FTSE slips into the red on thin trading volumes

London’s top share index slipped into the red today as thin festive trading volumes held back progress.

The FTSE 100 Index ducked below the 6,000 level – down 13.1 points to 5995.8 - with little in the way of corporate or economic news to extend the recent Santa rally.

Futures trading suggested the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wall Street was also heading for a lacklustre session.

The Dow – which was open yesterday while London remained shut for the bank holiday – hit a 28-month high on Tuesday as investors reacted to economic data.

In London, banks were among those responsible for pulling the Footsie back below the 6,000 level.

The top tier closed above 6,000 for the first time since June 2008 on Christmas Eve as thin trading volumes and festive cheer helped blue chips move higher.

But banks including part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland were in the red today.

RBS dropped 0.7p to 40p, with taxpayer-backed counterpart Lloyds Banking Group not far behind, down 0.9p to 67.9p.

Retail giant Next was the leading faller, however, off 2% or 41p to 2006p.

Miners fought back from early session declines seen after China’s move to raise interest rates by a quarter point on Christmas Day.

The hike was the second rise in just over two months as China – a major source of demand for mining products – stepped up its battle to curb soaring inflation.

The sector was helped by excitement over metal prices after gold saw its largest one-day gain since early November on Tuesday.

Gold miners African Barrick Gold and Randgold Resources led the sector’s rebound, up 22.5p to 604.5p and 140p to 5405p respectively.

Rio Tinto remained in negative territory, down 56p to 4517p, as it revealed Australia’s heaviest rainfall for decades had impacted production at four of its mines in the country.

Oil prices remaining near a 26-month high above 91 US dollars a barrel helped energy giant Royal Dutch Shell make gains.

Shell lifted nearly 1%, or 11p to 2127.5p.

In the FTSE 250, Superdry fashion firm SuperGroup edged higher as it recovers from recent weakness.

The group had enjoyed a stellar run since listing in March, but has been on a downward trend since warning on margins earlier this month.

Shares rose 3% today, up 42p to 1274p.