US market depresses FTSE

A downbeat start on Wall Street saw the London market close in the red today despite shrugging off an interest rate rise earlier in the session.

The FTSE 100 Index finished the day down 37.9 points at 6635.2, with markets in the US opening on the back foot after the Independence Day holiday.

Investors had taken the Bank's decision to up rates to 5.75% in their stride, but the early US falls put pressure on blue chips with little else in the way of corporate news or economic data to provide direction.

Plumbing and heating products group Wolseley topped the fallers board after a trading update failed to excite investors. The stock was down 3%, or 32p to 1183p.

Heavily weighted Vodafone also featured as one of the day's biggest share fallers, slipping more than 2%, or 4p to 162.1p, after reports suggested the mobile phone giant had lost out on an exclusive deal to act as the network provider for the new Apple iPhone.

Vodafone had been seen as the favourite to secure the rights to sell the sought-after gadget but speculation today put rival O2 in the frame to have secured the contract.

Broadcaster ITV was also off, falling 2%, or 2.3p to 112.2p, after broker Morgan Stanley cut its annual forecasts for the group following Wednesday's confirmation of a loss at Carlton Screen Advertising and a slump in operating profits at ITV Play.

British Airways shares were knocked after Deutsche Bank said security issues will prevent the airline from meeting its 10% margin target. Shares were down 9.5p at 431p.

But mining group Xstrata was enjoying better fortunes on the Footsie, up 2%, or 61p, at 3170p after analysts said the knock back in its bid for Australia's Gloucester Coal was "immaterial" in view of its strong investment case.

Supermarket group Morrisons was another gainer, up 4p at 305.5p amid speculation that the company had received several approaches regarding the possible sale of a portfolio of some 25 sites, thought to be worth up to £1bn (€1.48bn). The stock rose despite a lack of any confirmation from the firm.