FTSE closes down at 6211.9

Last Modified: 13 May 2008
Source: ITN

The FTSE 100 Index has closed down 8.7 points at 6211.9.

The fall is being blamed on a shock rise in UK inflation which unnerved investors.

Retailers were among the worst affected as the 3 per cent jump in April dampened hopes of a June interest rate cut.

Next was down 43p at 1266p, B&Q owner Kingfisher was down 3.2p at 148.5p and Marks & Spencer fell 7p to 398.5p.

Argos owner Home Retail Group slipped 7p to 259.75p while pubs group Enterprise Inns maintained its cautious outlook after an 11 per cent fall in first-half profits, sending shares down 7p to 480.25p.

Major banks were heavily in the red, with Alliance & Leicester the FTSE's worst casualty after a disappointing trading update.

Its shares were down 51.75p to 458.75p after it took a £192 million hit from investments linked to the credit crunch and said mortgage balances deteriorated in the first four months of the year.

Britain's biggest mortgage lender Halifax Bank of Scotland was also on the back foot, down 20.5p to 485p.

HSBC shrugged off the gloom as it continued to benefit from its well-received update yesterday, up 13.5p to 895.5p. But other losers included Lloyds TSB which was down 6.75p to 418p.

Winners: Rio Tinto up 236p at 6645p, Vedanta Resources up 73p at 2423p, Eurasian Natural Resources up 41p at 1377p and Imperial Tobacco up 40p at 2540p.

Losers: Alliance & Leicester down 51.75p at 458.75p, G4S group down 15p at 225p, HBOS off 20.5p at 485p and Cairn Energy down 133p at 3348p.

These news feeds are provided by an independent third party and Channel 4 is not responsible or liable to you for the same.