BP losses help drag FTSE 100 into the red
The index was down 5.67 points, or 0.08%, closing at 7,321.72.
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Your support makes all the difference.UK’s top stock index slipped into the red on Tuesday after being weighed down by losses for miners and energy giants.
The FTSE 100 failed to tread water despite Rolls-Royce soaring to the top of the index with gains of more than 6%.
It was down 5.67 points, or 0.08%, closing at 7,321.72.
BP was the biggest faller with losses of more than 4% after reporting lower profits and undershooting analysts’ expectations.
It was the energy giant’s lowest third-quarter profit since 2020, when demand for oil plummeted during pandemic lockdowns.
It has been a cautious day in London – BP’s results have cast a pall over the entire session, halting the bounce in its tracks
The update comes after a turbulent quarter for the firm, with former boss Bernard Looney stepping down in September after it was revealed he had not fully disclosed prior relationships with BP staff members to the board.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: “It has been a cautious day in London – BP’s results have cast a pall over the entire session, halting the bounce in its tracks.
“Investors aren’t short of reasons to put money into bonds and safe havens, and any signs of an escalation in the Middle East could drive more risk-off movements.”
The FTSE 100 lagged behind other European stock markets which were relatively buoyant on Tuesday.
Germany’s Dax was up 0.64% and France’s Cac closed 0.89% higher.
It was a slow start to trading over in the US with the S&P 500 up 0.3% and Dow Jones up around 0.1% by the time European markets closed.
The US Federal Reserve is due to meet on Wednesday to decide on the country’s interest rate, which is widely expected to be kept unchanged.
The pound was down by 0.3% against the US dollar to 1.213, and up 0.2% against the euro to 1.148.
In company news, shares in Rolls-Royce leapt higher after Barclays analysts upgraded the engineering giant’s stock.
It comes after the group earlier this month announced plans to cut up to 2,500 jobs globally to create a more “streamlined and efficient” business that meets the needs of “customers, partners and shareholders”. Its share price closed 6.4% higher.
Elsewhere, Vodafone told investors it had agreed to sell its Spanish business in a deal worth up to five billion euros (£4.37 billion), a move which boss Margherita Della Valle described as “right-sizing our portfolio for growth”.
The deal is expected to complete in the first half of 2024, while Ms Della Valle continues to lead an overhaul of the mobile phone giant to boost its profits. Shares in Vodafone were down by 1.4% at close.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Rolls-Royce, up 13.4p to 215.4p, Segro, up 19.4p to 712.8p, Kingfisher, up 5.5p to 209.8p, Croda, up 111p to 4,378p, and Experian, up 56p to 2,491p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were BP, down 24.1p to 502.6p, Glencore, down 15.85p to 435.15p, Intercontinental Hotels Group, down 182p to 5,810p, Antofagasta, down 24p to 1,345p, and Rightmove, down 7.5p to 473p.