Footsie looks set to record sixth successive fall

The FTSE 100 Index has lost its early morning 44-point gain and is down 5.1 at 5146.8 at lunchtime.

The index now appears to be on course to close down for its sixth session in a row.

Oil firms are under pressure, Catering group Compass is down, but Vodafone is up following speculation in the Far East that it's in talks to sell the fixed line communications division of its Japan Telecom subsidiary.