FTSE slips into the red

The FTSE 100 slipped into the red today as a surprise rise in US benefit claims took the gloss off decent half-year profits from insurer Aviva.

The London market gave up early gains to finish 20.4 points down at 5365.8 after initial unemployment claims confounded expectations by rising to 479,000 last week, sparking more recovery doubts and sending Wall Street’s Dow Jones Industrial Average down early on.