London close: Dull day for blue chips

30th Dec 2009 16:44

Footsie closed near its low for the day after banks and miners turned down on very low volumes ahead of a short day's trading tomorrow.A flat start on Wall Street didn't help, but it was Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Standard Chartered that led the the banks down while miners Fresnillo, Rio Tinto, Lonmin and Anglo American also fell on concerns over metal prices. Petrofac, the oil services firm, did best after news of expansion in Turkmenistan. The group has been chosen by Turkmengas, the state-owned national gas company of Turkmenistan, to help develop the South Yoloten gas field, south east of the capital Ashgabat. Cairn Energy was a riser on crude prices rising above $79 per barrel.Airline stocks were jittery on industry fears that Japan Airlines, which slid another 24% today, could go into bankruptcy as part of a bailout plan. British Airways, Ryanair, EazyJet and Aer Lingus were all lower on the news.Industrial property group Segro has sold its stake in two shopping centres, Surrey Quays in London and Clifton Moor in Yorkshire, to British Land for £26.9m. Segro invested in the centres 20 years ago in a joint venture with Tesco, which is the main tenant at both sites.Intertek is up on an FT report that says the testing company is eyeing acquisitions of not-for-profit enterprises across the world, which could include parts of the British Standards Institution, renowned for its kitemark.Stockbroker Panmure Gordon is looking forward to next year with confidence. "We expect the momentum in the UK business to continue into 2010 and in the US we are now starting to make some targeted senior hires in anticipation of a much better year ahead," it said.Vehicle replacement firm Accident Exchange lifted underlying interim profits to £4m from £2.4m,adding talks with its banker on extending its working capital facilities were nearing conclusion.FTSE 100 - RisersPetrofac Ltd (PFC) 1,029.00p +1.88%Cairn Energy (CNE) 331.10p +0.58%British Land Co (BLND) 464.90p +0.56%3i Group (III) 280.30p +0.54%FTSE 100 - FallersRoyal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 29.08p -3.20%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,517.00p -2.19%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,557.00p -2.08%Randgold Resources (RRS) 4,977.00p -1.93%FTSE 250 - RisersParagon Group Of Companies (PAG) 138.00p +4.31%Lancashire Holdings (LRE) 443.00p +3.87%SThree (STHR) 294.00p +3.63%Trinity Mirror (TNI) 152.60p +3.46%FTSE 250 - FallersSt. Modwen Properties (SMP) 180.00p -5.61%Ecofin Water & Power Opportunities (ECWO) 146.00p -3.95%Melrose Resources (MRS) 290.00p -3.17%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 2,742.00p -3.11