Shares traded flat despite well-received results from Barclays, which helped financial stocks higher, although a strong opening on Wall Street saw London close up more than 25pts on the day.
Barclays shares soared 6 per cent after Britain’s third largest bank saw half-year profits rise 12 per cent to £1.9 billion.
HBOS, Abbey National and Royal Bank of Scotland gained in sympathy.
Standard Chartered gained as Cazneove warmed to yesterday’s results statement.
Advertisement
Old Mutual held steady after reporting headline profits up 4 per cent.
Reed Elsevier added 2 per cent after results beat forecasts.
GKN rose 6 per cent as investors applauded interim pre-tax profits up £33 million to £113m.
Diageo gained on analyst comment.
Outside the FTSE 100, Millennium and Copthorne eased after the hotels operator saw the impact of Sars and the Iraq war lead it into a first-half loss.
Greggs dropped 2 per cent after warning of a “relatively” slow start to the second half.
EasyJet edged lower on disappointing traffic figures.
For more markets news read The Times tomorrow.