FTSE update: Banks surrender some of Monday's gains

Feb 19 2008

Banking shares surrendered some of Monday’s strong gains after investors digested results from Barclays and a further write-down by Credit Suisse.

The FTSE 100 Index stood 48.9 points lower at 5897.7 in the first hour of trading, representing a third of the increase achieved during yesterday’s strong start to the week.

Barclays delivered a 10% dividend rise and profits of £7.1 billion, but most of the news was factored into the share price after a gain of 8% on Monday.

The banking giant’s shares were off 2% or 7.5p to 452.5p, with the rest of the sector affected by the industry’s latest credit crunch write-down, with Credit Suisse marking down the value of its bond investments.

Alliance & Leicester fell 15.5p to 530p - ahead of results tomorrow - while Lloyds TSB slipped 6.25p to 418.25p.

Cadbury Schweppes led the Footsie fallers board, down 5% or 35p to 577.5p, after posting annual results in line with expectations.

Mining companies occupied the top five places among the risers, helped by a gain in commodity prices. Anglo American set the pace with an improvement of 55p to 3159p while Kazakhmys was ahead 24p at 1421p.