FTSE holds steady

The London market continued to hold steady today after a raft of takeover activity in the United States offset concerns over higher interest rates.

The FTSE 100 Index stood 5.7 points higher at 5686.9 by mid-morning after the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained nearly 60 points overnight.

Energy companies were among the movers in London after the price of crude oil rose above 72 US dollars a barrel. BP lifted 4p to 613.5p, Royal Dutch Shell added 15p to 1816p and Cairn Energy cheered 21p to 2077p.

Miners were also on the front foot as the price of metals such as copper and gold strengthened. BHP Billiton ticked 13p higher to 1010p while Footsie newcomers Vedanta Resources and Lonmin were up 13p to 1325p and 24p to 2770p respectively.

And on a quiet day for corporate news, housebuilder Persimmon put back all of the losses seen yesterday after a negative reaction to its trading statement. Shares were up 10p at 1210p.

Power companies suffered no such bounce back as sentiment remained weak in the wake of Ofgem’s announcement on network investment over the next five years.

The proposals allow for lower spending than the industry had hoped for, leading to pressure on firms such as Scottish & Southern Energy, which dipped 6p to 1110p, and National Grid – down 6.5p at 590p.

But Centrica was up 2.5p to 271.5p after the managing director of its British Gas residential arm Mark Clare announced he was quitting to join Barratt Developments as its new chief executive in December.

Elsewhere, shares in WH Smith were up 5.25p to 471.5p after it set out plans to separate its retail and news distribution businesses today.

And Carpetright was up 10p to 1240p as its annual profits came in marginally ahead of forecast after a much stronger second half than first half.