London shares end flat as oils slide

Leading shares ended the day little changed, with a tepid opening on Wall Street and a drift for the heavyweight oil stocks offsetting rallies for stocks including Hays and Lloyds TSB, dealers said.

The FTSE 100 index ended a quiet session down 1.6 points to 4,094.9. The index had peaked at 4,118.4 and hit a low of 4,069.3 within its first two hours of trade.