Footsie falls in early trading

The FTSE 100 Index is down 19.1 points at 5252.7 following an hour's trading.

The decline on the London market comes after Wall Street struggled for direction during trading yesterday.

Shares in FTSE 100 company Enterprise Oil are up 14% or 91½p to 720½p as investors warm to a £4.3 bn (€7bn) takeover offer from Shell.

Enterprise, an exploration firm operating in the North Sea, Norway and the Gulf of Mexico, has seen its share price lift in recent weeks due to takeover speculation.

Shell's share price is down 4p at 519p; while BP is up 3½p at 628½p as crude oil prices continue to rise.

Retailers are providing the main drag on the London market, with Burberry-to-Argos group GUS off 14p at 686p; Next down 19p at £10.66; and Dixons off 3¼p at 258¼p.

Outside the Footsie, infrastructure services group Alfred McAlpine is up 5p at 448½p after announcing £228m (€373m) worth of contract wins.

They include a £200m (€327m) deal with the Highways Agency to provide maintenance and other services on 300 miles of roads in the Midlands.