THE Irish operations of British retailer Marks & Spencer have performed strongly in the past six months, the company said yesterday.

The FTSE 100 Index dropped more than 100 points as disappointing US data and a fall in the oil price hit shares.

The FTSE 100 Index is down 31.1 points at 5338.7 - reversing yesterday's gains.

The Footsie index of 100 leading stocks is up 22.8 points at lunchtime after the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee's decided to keep the cost of borrowing at 5.75%.

Rises in telecom and banking shares are keeping the Footsie index of 100 leading stocks with its head just above water.