FTSE 100 closes lower
FTSE 100 ends lower
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Tuesday, 04, Aug 2009 05:50
The FTSE 100 dropped 0.24 per cent to 4,671.37, led by Standard Chartered and Legal & General.
Standard Chartered was down by 7.52 per cent by the end of the day after revealing it will have to raise money selling shares, while Legal & General fell by 4.75 per cent after posting a loss and slashing its dividend.
Lower metals prices also sent mining stocks lower, with Antofagasta down by 4.39 per cent and Anglo American trading 2.57 per cent lower.
A mixture of financial and defensive stocks offset the losses, led by software firm Autonomy Corporation, up by 5.58 per cent.
Tim Hughes, head of sales trading for IG Index, said investors are waiting to see what the morning brings.
"Clearly tomorrow's numbers from Lloyds Banking Group will be closely watched and there may be an element of traders bracing themselves for just how bad this news will actually be – it's going to be the first set of results post HBOS integration and if we're wanting to see the sting taken out of the horrific headline loss that is expected, the market is really going to want some good news about what the future holds for the combined entity."
Wall Street also had a weak start, with the Dow Jones up by just 0.21 per cent by early afternoon and the S&P 500 up by 0.33 per cent.