Minor slip for FTSE

The FTSE 100 Index struggled to make headway today as worries over the impact of an alleged 50 billion US dollar (£33 billion) Wall Street fraud weighed on the market.

The FTSE 100 Index struggled to make headway today as worries over the impact of an alleged US$50bn (€36.6bn) Wall Street fraud weighed on the market.

The Footsie closed 2.8 points down at 4277.6, losing earlier ground as America’s Dow Jones Industrial Average fell almost 1% in early trading.

The London market had risen more than 50 points shortly after opening as commodity stocks gained on rising oil and metal prices.

Hopes of a rescue for US car makers from the Bush administration despite last week's Senate snub also provided some cheer.

But concerns over potential losses from investments with Bernard Madoff, who was arrested last week, hit the Dow in the US as investor sentiment was knocked by the potential scandal.

In the UK, there was a mixed performance from banks after a strong early session.

A recapitalisation by the Irish Government initially outweighed the fraud exposure fears, but this soon gave way to losses among major players.

Royal Bank of Scotland, which said it had a potential £400m (€447m) exposure, fell 2.1p to 54p, Lloyds TSB lost 5.9p to 124p, with Barclays also down 4.1p to 143.9p.

HSBC - facing a Madoff exposure of almost £700m (€783.3m) - dropped 9p to 724p.

But Hedge fund giant Man Group, another possible victim with £239m (€267.4m) in potential losses, added 8p to 253.75p.

HBOS also shrugged off the concerns, securing its place as one of the top share risers, up 3.2p to 70.7p or 4.7%, despite a downgrade from brokers at Cazenove in the wake of Friday's gloomy trading update.

Firmer oil prices lifted BG Group 33.5p to 983.5p, while miners such as Xstrata and Kazakhmys - up 11p to 717.5p and 6p to 246.25p respectively - cheered as metal prices were buoyed by the dollar's weakness against the euro.

Among the fallers, Centrica shed more than 7% after the firm said it had sold 91% of new shares on offer under a £2.2bn (€2.5bn) rights issue.

Centrica will use the cash to fund the acquisition of a 25% stake in British Energy, and it confirmed late in the session that it had found a buyer for the remaining 121 million shares, but this came too late to prevent the stock falling 18.25p to 234p.

Private equity firm 3i was the Footsie's leading faller on reports that the group plans to sell stakes in up to 70 companies. Shares dropped more than 10% or 32p to 278.5p.

In the second tier, car dealership Inchcape saw shares plummet more than 28% or 20p to 50.75p after its second profit warning in less than two months. The company said plunging car markets would leave next year's profits "significantly" below previous expectations.

IT and business services firm Logica was another faller in the FTSE 250 Index after a downgrade from brokers at Panmure Gordon sent the stock down 4p to 59p.

The biggest Footsie risers were Eurasian Natural Resources up 18p at 318p, Antofagasta ahead 20.75p at 444.25p, Johnson Matthey up 47.5p at 1018p and HBOS up 3.2p at 70.7p.

The biggest fallers were 3i Group down 32p at 278.5p, Centrica off 18.25p at 234p, Petrofac down 18.5p at 317p and FirstGroup down 21.25p at 373.75p.