Footsie stuck in negative territory

London’s leading shares remained stuck just within negative territory today as early fears of a lacklustre day proved well founded.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index drifted 5.1 points into the red at 4068.5 by lunchtime as investors cast around for guidance after Wall Street failed to provide any direction overnight.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up by just 6 points leaving the London market unmoved today.

Drinks giant Diageo and banking group Bradford & Bingley were among those attracting some interest by lunchtime.

Media speculation that Bradford & Bingley could be the next target in the recent spate of acquisition activity put it on top of the Footsie risers board with shares gaining 17.5p at 327.75p.

And Diageo put on 4p at 641p as a mixed trading update encountered a positive reception from investors.

The group, whose brands include Guinness and Smirnoff, warned that tough trading conditions looked likely to continue but said that growth of organic operating profits in the second half of its financial year would exceed the 6% seen in the first six months.

Meanwhile drugs giant AstraZeneca made an uncertain start to the session ahead of a long-awaited announcement from the US Food and Drug Administration on its cholesterol drug Crestor expected later today.

After fluctuating between positive and negative ground, shares were down 3p at 2490p by lunchtime.

Blue-chip financial shares largely dipped today. The only risers were among the banks where Royal Bank of Scotland rose 14p to 1695p, HSBC gained 5p at 741.5p, Barclays jumped 2.75p at 458p, Alliance & Leicester edged 1.5p ahead to 828p and Abbey National rose 0.75p at 493.75p.

FTSE 250 newcomer electricals group Kesa made some progress, up 7p at 195p, while rival Dixons also gained ground in the top flight – up 3.75p at 133.25p.

Iceland-to-Booker retailer Big Food Group saw its shares edge 0.25p higher to 88.5p after reporting further signs of improvement, although like-for-like sales fell 0.5% in the first quarter.

Car dealership Reg Vardy accelerated 11.5p to 442.5p after an upbeat set of annual results which showed a 19% rise in pre-tax profits.

Among other shares attracting attention was Balfour Beatty, the support services group. The stock lost 5%, falling 9.25p to 185.75p, after the revelation that the company’s infrastructure services unit has been summonsed for offences of manslaughter related to the Hatfield train crash.