LONDON (AFP) – Shares fell in London trade on Tuesday, after the International Monetary Fund said the outlook for economic growth in Britain "is subject to considerable uncertainties."
The benchmark FTSE 100 index dropped 33.20 points or 0.58 percent to 5,74.23 at 12:11 pm.
The IMF maintained its growth forecasts for Britain but warned of risks from the eurozone debt crisis, spending cuts, volatile commodity prices and a weak housing market.
Shares in Barclays jumped 3.73 percent to 225.10 pence after the banking group unveiled better than expected resuilts for the six months o June.
Net profit slid 38 percent in the six months to June as investment division revenues fell and it set aside ￡1.0 billion to compensate clients who were mis-sold credit insurance.
However, net profit of ￡1.50 billion was still well ahead of average market expectations of ￡1.31 billion, based on analysts' estimates polled by Dow Jones Newswires.
"I am pleased with the progress made across Barclays in the first half," Chief Executive Bob Diamond said in the earnings release.
"We have delivered underlying profit before tax up 24 percent ... despite a lacklustre economic environment in many of our major markets which impacted income generation.
Rival bank HSBC rose 1.89 percent to 619.00 pence following its announcement that it will hire about 15,000 people in emerging markets by 2014 as it looks to Asia's booming financial sector to power future growth.1.27 percent to 615.20 pence.
Standard Chartered, another London-based bank with big Asian operations, gained 1.06 percent to 1,567.50 pence ahead of its results on Wednesday.
Stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdowne was the main faller, shedding 9.14 percent to 527 pence amid discussion about proposed changes in the rules for its key business of execution-only share trading.
Internationally, dealers said relief that a US debt deal appears to have been reached was tempered by anxiety about the US economy after the the US Institute of Supply Management announced that the index based on its purchasing managers' survey fell to 50.9, down from 55.3 the previous month
No comments:
Post a Comment