Compass leads FTSE further into red

Catering giant Compass led the FTSE 100 Index deeper into the red today after it suspended a top executive.

Compass shares dropped 6%, heading the blue-chip fallers board, after the firm suspended UK boss Peter Harris as it investigates how United Nations contracts were awarded.

It came as the Footsie continued its recent rocky ride to stand 12.5 points lower at 5151.6 by mid-morning.

Fresh losses by oil heavyweights and a triple-digit decline on Wall Street dampened the mood and appeared to scupper hopes for a pre-weekend rally in London.

Compass lost 12p to 173.75p and was followed by a string of oil stocks after the cost of a barrel of crude oil slipped to 60 US dollars.

Cairn Energy was the hardest-hit in the sector, off 30p at 1602p, while larger rivals BP and Royal Dutch Shell weakened 5.5p and 15p to 604p and 1735p respectively.

Satellite broadcaster BSkyB was also down 4p at 515p after a proposed £211m (€311.6m) takeover of telecoms firm Easynet sparked worries about how much it will spend on developing and marketing new products. Easynet surged 35% or 45p to 172p.

The negative momentum by the Footsie came despite Party Poker owner PartyGaming surging 10% after its decision to freeze rivals out of a new poker platform helped revenues to rise by a third over the summer.

PartyGaming shares were 8.25p stronger at 86.25p as it put to bed fears among investors that its growth was slowing. Its trading update lifted rivals such as Sportingbet, which cheered 7% or 18.5p to 278.5p and Empire Online, up 5p to 88.5p.

And shares in drugs giant AstraZeneca lifted 1% after a study of its Seroquel schizophrenia treatment confirmed it could control both manic and depressive episodes of people with bipolar disorder. The stock added 21p to 2602p.

Outside the top flight, furniture group MFI advanced 5% or 3.75p to 80p after broker UBS upgraded the stock.