FTSE closes at 4399.2
Updated on 13 January 2009
The FTSE 100 Index has closed in the red for the fifth session in a row, down 27 points at 4399.2.
Blue chip banks fell by as much as 10 per cent amid investor worries about prospects for further write-downs and another round of balance sheet restructurings.
Poor retail sales figures and a bleak assessment of the UK economy from the British Chambers of Commerce also hit stocks.
But a more stable opening for the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wall Street helped narrow losses.
In a reversal of recent gains, banks were back in negative territory, with Barclays diving 18.7p to 165.9p - 10 per cent off. Royal Bank of Scotland fell 3.9p to 51.1p, while merger partners HBOS and Lloyds TSB were off 3.1p at 81p and 7.7p at 133p.
The weakness was also felt among insurers as Aviva lost 35.5p to 400p, Friends Provident fell 7.5p to 77p and Prudential eased 21p to 371p.
Elsewhere, Tesco sales figures were met with relief in the City, despite the supermarket's weakest Christmas performance since the early 1990s.
Analysts described the result as robust and said the 2.5 per cent growth in like-for-like sales for the seven weeks to January 10 was in line with expectations. Tesco shares rose 1.3p to 351.6p.
Winners: Randgold Resources up 160p at 2670p, Unilever ahead 48p at 1593p, Reed Elsevier up 14p at 538p and Shire up 23p at 1038p.
Losers: Barclays down 18.7p at 165.9p, Friends Provident off 7.5p at 77p, Aviva down 35.5p at 400p and Royal Bank of Scotland off 3.9p at 51.1p.
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