Headline shares were flat in midday trade as investors paused to see how the UK political situation would evolve, with banks sliding on financial restraint concerns and miners down as metals eased. At high noon, the FTSE 100 was little changed at 5,333.26 with the FTSE250 up 97.04 points at 10,073.9 and the FTSE Smallcaps 11.8 points better at 2,871.85. US stock futures showed little change as investors focused on sovereign debt concerns. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added less than a point, S&P500 futures edged up fractionally to 1,152 and Nasdaq 100 futures ticked up a point at 1,936.2.

LONDON MARKETS

Markets in London were indecisive in morning trade as investors assessed the possible impact a coalition government in the UK on the country's economic welfare and where its priorities lay.

The uncertainty forced the banks into retreat, with Royal Bank Of Scotland Group Plc (LON:RBS) the biggest casualty at midday, down 2.15p at 47.85p. Barclays (LON:BARC) shed 8.45p at 316.95p and Lloyds slipped 0.78p at 59.52p. HSBC gave up 3.8p at 657.6p and Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) drifted 27p lower at 1,675p.

Mining shares also provided downforce as base metals prices stalled, with BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) the runt of the litter, down 27p at 1,921.5p. Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) eased 34p at 3,261.5p and Anglo American (LON:AAL) fell 28.5p at 2,649p. Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) bucked the trend, adding 95p at 5,940p as the price of gold ticked up to $1,240 an ounce.

Oil producers were weaker as crude rolled back below $76 a barrel, with Shell off 20p at 1,795.5p and BG Group (LON:BG.) was 2.5p lower at 1,051.5p. BP (LON:BP.) continued to suffer fall-out from its oil spillage problems, easing a further 1.9p at 543.6p. Tullow Oil Plc (LON:TLW) provided a welcome glimpse of blue in the sector, up 40p at 1,128p, after saying it has continued to perform strongly in 2010 and believes the outlook for the year is positive.

Capita Group (LON:CPI) topped the leaderboard, up 40.5p at 815.5p, on hopes that a new government will give a boost to infrastructure projects. Global caterer Compass Group (LON:CPG) was a major gainer, ahead 20p at 549.5p after it said revenue has grown by 2.6% in the six months to end-March, and it has seen a slight acceleration in the…

Unlock the rest of this article with a 14 day trial

Unlock with Email
Unlock with Google

Already have an account?
Login here