London close: Footsie back below 6,000

29th Dec 2010 17:01

Footsie did not stay above 6,000 for long and it ended the day down 13 at 5,996. A strong performance from mining companies, particularly those involved in gold, was not enough to offset a decline in banks, which are weak on worries over the debt issues facing the eurozone. Royal Bank of Scotland was the worst performer with Lloyds also well down on the day. Miners make up eight of the top ten performers with gold miners particularly strong. African Barrick Gold is the best performer ahead of Randgold Resources. Smith & Nephew is weak after yesterday's decision by the US Food and Drug Administration to issue a warning about production methods at a S&N factory in Germany that makes hip replacements.BT (2.4p a share interim), Burberry (5p a share interim), Experian (5.71p a share interim) and Alliance Trust (2.06p third quarter) have all gone ex-dividend today. Alliance Trust rose slightly. Activist investor Laxey Partners and associated entities are putting forward two resolutions to the Alliance Trust AGM. BT has fallen by little more than one-half of its dividend. The other two have fallen by more than their interim dividend payment. TUI Travel is replacing its auditor KPMG with PwC after the relationship broke down following the discovery of £117m worth of irrecoverable balances after the integration of the tour operator's IT systems. KPMG had discussions with the directors of TUI and it says that: "Over the course of these discussions our relationship with certain directors became increasingly strained". Shares in Gulf Keystone Petroleum have fallen by nearly 10% after Excalibur Ventures claimed that it is entitled to a 30% stake in the AIM-quoted oil and gas explorer's interests in northern Iraq. Blizzards in the US are driving up oil prices to a 26-month high above $91 a barrel. Heating oil prices in particular are rising. Royal Dutch Shell was one of the best performing non-mining companies. Shares in Gas Turbine Efficiency have more than doubled after it revealed that it had agreed the sale of its aviation engine wash services business to Pratt & Whitney for $17.1m. FTSE 100 - RisersAfrican Barrick Gold (ABG) 618.50p +6.27%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,445.00p +3.42%Anglo American (AAL) 3,375.50p +2.07%Investec (INVP) 531.50p +2.02%Xstrata (XTA) 1,524.50p +1.97%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,634.00p +1.81%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,638.00p +1.74%Vedanta Resources (VED) 2,550.00p +1.59%Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,151.00p +1.34%Lonmin (LMI) 1,983.00p +1.23%FTSE 100 - Fallers Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 39.77p -2.24%Serco Group (SRP) 576.00p -2.04%Next (NXT) 2,006.00p -2.00%Vodafone Group (VOD) 168.85p -1.89%Centrica (CNA) 336.00p -1.84%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 67.64p -1.71%Schroders (Non-Voting) (SDRC) 1,477.00p -1.66%Inmarsat (ISAT) 675.00p -1.53%International Power (IPR) 442.10p -1.45%Rexam (REX) 334.70p -1.36%