Footsie falls as European markets struggle

The FTSE-100 Index was off 41.6 points at 5296.4 after an hour's trading, despite a strong close on Wall Street overnight.

Traders were blaming the shaky start on low-key trading in other European markets.

Technology and telecoms stocks were feeling the pinch in London trading, with chip designer ARM Holdings 15½p weaker at 427½p; and software group Sage down 3¼p at 266¾p.

Vodafone was off 4p at 185p; Cable & Wireless shed 12p at 364p; and BT Group lost 1½p at 288½p.

But mmO2, BT's demerged mobile phone business, continued yesterday's upbeat start to life as an independently-listed company and edged ahead 1p to 85p.

Kingfisher was also riding high, gaining 2% or 8¼p at 390p, after revealing a surge in third-quarter sales.

Other retailers following its lead included Dixons, up 1½p at 237¾p; and Boots, ahead 3½p at 605p.

P&O Princess Cruises gained 14% or 44p at 361p after announcing a £4.2bn merger with its US rival Royal Caribbean.

But Moss Bros slumped 16% or 4¾p to 25p after warning that the heightened economic uncertainty meant its full-year results could be "materially worse" than last year.