FTSE holds onto gains

The London market held on to its recent strong gains today as investors resisted the urge to take profits.

The FTSE 100 Index ended the day 0.2 points lower at 5057.2 after starting the week just above the 5000 barrier.

Better-than-expected public borrowing figures contributed to the mood on a slow day for corporate news.

Official data showed tax receipts generated a £6.6 billion surplus on public sector net borrowing in January, the biggest monthly surplus for three years.

One trader said he expected the Footsie’s strong run to continue, given the lack of significant economic data due for release next week.

The Footsie’s performance mirrored activity across the Atlantic, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average was also flat by the end of trading in London.

With corporate results hard to come by, BP was one of the losers, down 2.5p to 555p, after broker BNP Paribas chopped the stock from outperform to neutral.

However, other oil stocks were in vogue, with Cairn Energy hitting the top of the Footsie risers after finding more oil in India. Shares were up more than 4% or 50p to 1180p. Smaller rival Burren Energy was leading the FTSE 250 with a 7% or 32p lift to 521p after recently winning oil exploration rights in Egypt and buying into India’s only publicly quoted oil and gas group.

British Airways was one of the biggest Footsie fallers – off 6.25p to 271.5p - despite a positive note from Goldman Sachs.

Outside the top flight, Premier Foods lost 3% of its market value as an urgent warning was issued by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) after a potentially cancer-causing dye was discovered in food products including its Crosse and Blackwell Worcester Sauce. Shares fell 7.75p to 280p.

Meanwhile, FTSE 250 stock Go-Ahead added 5p to 1565p after announcing a slight rise in interim pre-tax profits, although it said the substantial growth in its key London bus business in the last two years was unlikely to continue.

Shares in dog track and gaming group Wembley lifted 10.5p to 819.5p following reports that leisure entrepreneur Luke Johnson was the front-runner to land six greyhound tracks put up for sale by the group.

Parcel carrier Business Post also featured in the FTSE 250 risers, up 17.5p at 702.5p after mail regulator Postcomm said Royal Mail’s monopoly on letter deliveries would end on January 1 next year.

Shares in Woolworths were a penny higher at 50p after it emerged that a clause in a key contract with rival Tesco could make it harder to value its wholesale subsidiary Entertainment UK (EUK).

And construction group Amec advanced 1.5p to 307.5p after saying it had bought French IT management company Fast Maintenance Informatique for an undisclosed sum.

The highest Footsie climbers today were Cairn Energy up 50p to 1180p, Scottish & Newcastle rising 9p to 464.25p, SABMiller up 15p to 845p and Standard Chartered rising 17p to 1000p.

The heaviest fallers were Corus down 2p to 60p, BT falling 5p to 210.25p, British Airways off 6.25p to 271.5p and Hanson falling 9.75p to 527p.