Rough first day for standard Life in FTSE

Insurer Standard Life was given a rough ride on its debut in the FTSE 100 Index today.

Standard shares closed 1% lower, although the rest of the market fared better after a strong performance from miners and gambling stocks offset weakness from banks and the impact of a profits warning in the technology sector.

At one point the Footsie stood above 5900, but eased after a lacklustre start to business in New York – eventually closing 13.2 points higher at 5890.2.

Much of the spotlight was on the energy sector after traders took a punt on speculation of a Royal Dutch Shell bid for gas explorer BG Group and market heavyweight BP was again embroiled in safety-based issues.

It emerged that BP had begun a review of its global operations in response to last year’s Texas City refinery blast which killed 15 people. The company later said the repair of equipment would also delay the start of production at its Thunder Horse platform in the Gulf of Mexico until 2008.

Oil prices helped investors take the news in their stride, leaving BP up 6p at 579p, while Royal Dutch Shell lifted 10p to 1793p and BG Group rose 10p to 650p.

Mining stocks were boosted by a recovery in metal prices following a difficult time last week. Kazakhmys lifted 59p to 1266p ahead of interim results tomorrow, while Vedanta Resources was up 37p at 1258p and Xstrata was 45p stronger at 2205p.

And supermarket chain Morrisons gained 1.25p to 232p after an upgrade from hold to buy by Deutsche Bank ahead of its results on Thursday. Deutsche kept Tesco as its long-term pick from the sector but downgraded the shares in light of a recent strong run. The market leader was 1p higher at 376.75p.

Fortunes in the gaming sector continued to fluctuate, with a gain of 6% for Party Poker owner PartyGaming. Shares were up 6p at 106.75p, alongside a rise of 7.25p to 149p for 888 Holdings in the FTSE 250 Index.

Banks lost some of their gains of last week, with HBOS down 15p at 1035p and Barclays 9p cheaper at 671p. Along with other insurers Standard Life endured a difficult first session since its promotion to the top flight – down 3p at 267p. Closed life fund manager Resolution rose half a penny to 609p on its first day.

Outside the top flight, department store group Debenhams fell 0.25p to 191.75p after like-for-like sales rose by 0.5% in the year to September 2.

Infrastructure firm John Laing was up another 5% – or 17p to 340.35p – after it was said to have agreed to an £800 million takeover by fund manager Henderson.

Bluetooth chip maker CSR moved in the opposite direction, losing 288p to 856p after it said that sales in the second half of the year would be lower than first expected. Wolfson Microelectronics fell 9p to 501p and ARM Holdings dipped 0.5p to 117.25p.

The biggest Footsie risers were PartyGaming up 6p at 106.75p, Kazakhmys ahead 59p at 1266p, Anglo American up 65p at 2175p and Vedanta Resources ahead 37p at 1258p.

The biggest fallers were Wolseley down 22p at 1171p, Legal & General off 2p at 136p. HBOS down 15p at 1035p and Drax Group off 12.5p at 887.5p.