Headline shares closed down but well off the low point of the day, as the market found some support from the miners as gold hit new highs, but weakness in oil and banking issues took its toll. At the close of business, the FTSE100 was down 40.91 points at 5,028.15 with the FTSE250 off 121.53 points at 9,356.17 and the FTSE Smallcaps 21.67 points weaker at 2,709.21. US stocks were mixed in late morning trade as investors continued to fret about European debt and global growth but enjoyed some upbeat jobs data. Approaching the close in London, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 15 points at 9,832, the S&P500 added a points at 1,052 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 14 points at 2,160.
LONDON MARKETS
Markets in London were pensive throughout the day, investors concerned over ongoing problems for European economies as Spain is the latest to face widespread strikes over the imposition of austerity measures.
Banking shares faced pressure as their exposure to European debt came under scrutiny, with Lloyds the worst of them, down 2.2p at 51.76p. Barclays (LON:BARC) fell 9.35p at 276.55p and Royal Bank Of Scotland Group Plc (LON:RBS) eased 1.64p at 41.45p. HSBC bucked the trend, adding 3.6p at 633p.
Staying with the financial theme, Prudential (LON:PRU) continued to find the going tough in the wake of its stormy AGM, the shares sliding a further 8.5p at 525.5p. Peer Aviva (LON:AV.) fell 5.7p at 317.7p and Legal & General Group (LON:LGEN) lost 0.2p at 75.65p.
Supermarket operators were in focus as Tesco (LON:TSCO) announced that Terry Leahy will be standing down as CEO in March 2011, with Philip Clarke moving into the job. Tesco shares headed towards the foot of the table on the news, down 9.7p at 397.4p.
Morrisons had its own management news to share, as it reported the appointment of Waitrose's Richard Hodgson as its commercial director. Hodgson previously spent ten years with Asda. Morrison shares closed unchanged at 262p.
Sainsbury and Marks & Spencer Group (LON:MKS) followed the general market down trend, off 1.9p at 321.5p and 5.2p at 332.2p, respectively.
Oil producers suffered from the fall-out from BP's US spillage disaster, with Shell off 7.5p at 1,708.5, Tullow Oil Plc (LON:TLW) down 13p…
