FTSE 100 Remains Broadly Steady
The likes of Eurasian Natural Resources, Fresnillo and InterContinental Hotels went ex-dividend on Wednesday, shaving 0.17 points off the FTSE 100 index, but the leading share index, nevertheless, remained broadly steady, losing 15 points, or 0.3%, by noon, to stand at 4,902.60 points.
Dominic Turner
shareprices.com - Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Traders continued to eye the 5,000 point mark after the blue chip index closed up slightly on Tuesday, despite spending most of the day in the red, but there were signs of wavering investor confidence.
Strength in the banking and pharmaceutical sectors was offset by weakness in oil and mining stocks, with Tullow Oil, for example, down 43p, or 3.92% at £10.53. Tullow Oil posted an 83% fall in pre-tax profits for the first half of the year, down to £34.8 million from £126 million a year ago and a 23% fall in revenue, down to £291.3 million from £378 million, as a result of oil prices, which fell 34%, from $80 a barrel to $50 a barrel during the period. The largest independent oil producer in Europe said that it had already reaped benefits from its decision to invest in exploration in Ghana and Uganda, however, with the discovery of a second oilfield in Uganda.
Another of the biggest single fallers amongst FTSE 100 constituent companies was WPP. Share prices in the second largest communication services company in the world, by revenue, fell 3.4% to 502.5p after it reported an 8.3% fall in interim sales and a 47% fall in pre-tax profits for the first half of 2009. WPP added that it did not expect to return to positive growth until 2010.
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