London market shows early losses

Mobile phone group mmO2 rang up a 4% gain on the London market today after strong half-year results beat analyst expectations.

The former BT business marked its first anniversary as a separate company by showing increased customer numbers and reduced losses.

Shares in the group rose 2.25p to 54p, back towards its highest levels for seven months, as investors welcomed the news.

But the jump, a week after strong half-year results from rival Vodafone, was in stark contrast to the mood elsewhere in the City.

A subdued session on Wall Street overnight carried over to London with the FTSE 100 Index down 17 points at 4099 after an hour’s trading.

Banks were slipping with HSBC off 10p at 730p, Abbey National down 19p at 649.5p and Standard Chartered 5.5p weaker at 770.5p.

Engineering conglomerate Tomkins lost 5% after a cautious trading update pushed the group down 11.25p to 199.75p.

And the gloom extended to smaller stocks with music giant EMI tumbling nearly 7% despite an improvement in first-half profits.

The group’s half-year results were in line with forecasts but fears over recorded music sales held sway and EMI fell 12.25p to 172p.

Radio group GWR was also off, down 7p to 159p, after saying the weak advertising market meant it was impossible to forecast with any confidence.