Footsie on the back foot

The FTSE 100 Index closed back in the red today, wiping out two days of moderate gains as uncertainty over the war in Iraq hit stocks.

After overnight falls on Wall Street, London’s benchmark index opened on the back foot and stayed in negative territory throughout the day before closing 64 points lower at 3729.1.

The gloom was reflected across the Atlantic where at the time of London’s close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 84 points lower.

In the City, a host of sectors traded lower, with insurers and banks again among those most under pressure.

Norwich Union owner Aviva slipped 15p to 387p and Friends Provident eased 2.5p to 83p while the Royal Bank of Scotland was off 14p at 1456p and Abbey National weakened 14p to 348.5p.

Rising oil prices – driven higher because of unrest in Nigeria as well as war in the Gulf – failed to lift oil stocks with BP 13.25p lower at 416p and Shell falling 10.75p to 387.25p.

And the retail sector was in focus after Boots announced plans to pull the Wellbeing Services concept it launched less than three years ago.

The company also warned that full-year profits would be at the lower end of market expectations – before accounting for the cost of the strategic review.

The update did little for investor confidence and the company topped the Footsie fallers board dropping almost 6% – off 33p at 545p.

On a hectic day for corporate news, the hedge fund company Man Group topped the Footsie risers board, lifting 5.5% or 50.5p to reach 969.5p after a trading update in which it said full-year results would be ahead of market expectations.

Shares in fashion group Next rose 26p to 835p despite flat like-for-like sales growth in its most recent trading period.

But logistics group Exel closed down 9p at 586p despite earlier rising on the back of news that it was being awarded the management of seven warehouses belonging to Marks & Spencer – itself down 7.25p at 286.25p.

Outside the top flight, the biggest riser was Waste Recycling which jumped 26% or 52.5p to 252.5p after it confirmed it was in talks with a potential buyer.

Similarly fashion retailer Austin Reed was up 17%, or 19.5p at 135p, after confirming it was the subject of possible takeover interest.

Elsewhere, radio group GWR lost 7% after it forecast that revenues in the year to March 31 would be slightly down on last year. Shares fell 10.5p to 137p.

Royal & Sun Alliance – now in the FTSE 250 Index – lost 0.5p to 75.75p after being fined almost £1 million by the Financial Services Authority for endowment mis-selling in the late 1990s.

The biggest FTSE 100 risers were Man Group up 50.5p at 969.5p, ICI up 5.25p at 101p, Next up 26p at 835p and Gallaher up 16p at 613p.

The biggest Footsie fallers were Boots down 33p at 545, Hanson down 16.75p at 317.75p, Schroders NV down 23.75p at 451.25p and Sainsbury’s down 11p at 220p.