Markets: FTSE 100 falls as oil prices slip

The FTSE 100 (UKX) closed down 16 points at 5251 with travel groups TUI Travel (TT) and Thomas Cook (TCG) the heaviest fallers after Morgan Stanley downgraded the latter.

London's leading index has lost 45 points over the last five sessions.

Nick Serff of City Index says: 'Investor volume has remained light on stocks and indices through the afternoon after a muted open on Wall Street. However trading in oil, currencies and gold has remained heavy, with clients squaring up positions before expected quieter trading in the run up to Thanks Giving next week."  

16:35 - Wall Street suffered further losses as trading wore on, pulled down by disappointing results from computer giant Dell and a strengthening US dollar.

The Dow Jones was down 58 points to 10273, while the Nasdaq fell 18 points taking it 2137. S&P failed to buck the trend, down seven points to 1087.

The greatest fallers were Caterpillar and Alcoa.

16:10 - Kalahari Minerals (KAH) will rapidly scale up its gold and base metal assets in Namibia after finalising a deal with North River Resources. 

The AIM-listed miner now controls around 44% of the enlarged issued share capital of North River.

Mark Hohnen, chairman of Kalahari and North River, commented: 'This agreement has paved the way for the next phase of development at our gold and base metal projects in Namibia.'

The company previously ploughed £8 million of investment into an extensive exploration programme in the country between 2006 and 2008.

Its shares were down 0.50p at 179.25p. 

15:50 - Crude oil was losing its battle against the US dollar on Friday as it slipped for the second consecutive day.

Prices fell as low as $76.33 a barrel as the greenback rebounded up to 0.8% against the Euro.

London Brent fared a touch better at $77.64 a barrel. 

15:28 - Net asset value (NAV) per share rose almost 22% at RIT Capital Partners (RCP) in the first six months of its financial year, the investment trust reported today.

It said the rally on the markets, married with increased market exposure and a number of profitable positions had led to the rise in NAV.

Net profit for the half-year to 30 September was also a stark improvement, with the company notching up a proit of £298.3 million compared to last year's loss of £150.9 million.

Shares in the firm edged up to 951.75p.

London's leading share index was 12 points down 5255, with travel operators Thomas Cook (TCG) and TUI Travel (TT-) still unable to wrench themselves from the bottom of the pack.

Meanwhile, miner Antofagasta (ANTO) managed to sneak ahead of Cable & Wireless (CW-) to head the leaderboard.

Profits at Dell dropped by a larger-than-expected 54% in the third quarter, dragging the Nasdaq 36 points down to 2145.

The Dow Jones slipped nine points to 10323 and the S&P 500 was down two points to 1092.

The Mint produced 32,736 ounces of gold coins during July, August and September of this year, compared to 7,500 during the corresponding period of 2008.

Gold prices have shot up recently, hitting a record high of $1,152 an ounce on Wednesday, after investors flocked to the commodity market as a safe haven against dollar volatility.

13:58 - Department store sales at high street bellwether John Lewis soared 17.1% to £72 million in the week to 14 November.

There were double-digit year-on-year sales gains in all divisions in the week to 14 November with fashion up 19.5%, Electricals and Home Technology up 20% and home sales up 15.5%.

Meanwhile, 26 branches reported sales up year-on-year, while only Aberdeen reported lower sales. Online sales were up 49.2% year-on-year.

Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight, says: "Following on from this week's news of solid retail sales growth in October, the healthy latest John Lewis sales figures boosts hopes that consumer spending will increase in the fourth quarter (after falling since the second quarter of 2008) and help the economy to finally return to growth."

13:30 -Goldwas suffering at the hands of a strengthening US dollar, which caused it to fall forthe second day in a row.

The precious metal dropped to $1,134 an ounce after the US currency rose 0.8% against the Euro,dampening buying interest in the commodities market.

It hit a record high of $1,152 an ounce on Wednesday.

12:58 - London's top share index was in the doldrums in early afternoon trading, as a sliding oil price weighed on the mining sector.

The FTSE 100 (UKX) was down 27 points to 5240, with travel operators Thomas Cook (TCG) and TUI Travel (TT-) still nursing the heaviest losses following rumours Thomas Cook was in need of shareholders' cash.

The pair have signed a five-year deal which will see Cable & Wireless provide the retailer with broadband and home phone services.

Tesco predicted in an analyst meeting that it would end up holding around 10% of the annual £22 billion telecoms market.

Shares in Cable & Wireless (CW-) were up over 2% to 138.3p, while Tesco's shares slipped back 1% to 420.57p.

Current chief financial officer Martin Hinxman stepped down after the company said it would relocate the operation headquarters to Maputo, Mozambique. He will remain with the company until a replacement is found.

The company will restart production at its Marropino mine in March or April of next year and is embarking on a new exploration programme for Mozambique.

The company's shares were unmoved at 5.5p.

On the year, car production stood 38.1% lower than this time 12 months ago.

Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive, said: "The scrappage scheme and early signs of recovery in global markets offer some encouragement to UK vehicle producers, but 2010 is expected to be another difficult year for the industry."

The FTSE 100 (UKX) was up just six points to 5273, with insurer Old Mutual (OML) heading the leaderboard with gains of almost 3%.

On the fallers' board, it was travel operators Thomas Cook (TCG) and TUI Travel (TT-) that were nursing the biggest losses amid speculation the former will soon be tapping up shareholders.

The UK's biggest building society results saw £5.6 billion of retail deposits withdrawn in the six months to September.

Its financial results for the period show a profit of £143 million - down 62% drop from the £274 million profit it reported a year earlier.

For the full story, read: Nationwide hit by savers exodus.

It is intending to float between 30% and 50% of new and existing shares which will value the company at around £1 billion.

The asset manager, which had £21.8 billion of funds under management in September, will use the money raised - around £300 million - to cut its net debt to £150 million.

For the full story, read: Gartmore confirms flotation plans.

Public finances fell at almost double the rate originally expected, official figures revealed yesterday, increasing the possibility of the government upping borrowing forecasts in the forthcoming pre-Budget report.

The pound fell 0.4% to $1.66 against the dollar, while the euro was touching 90p again.

The AIM-listed company has completed the first tranche of 12,200,000 shares at a price of 13 pence per share.

A second tranche of 7,200,000 shares will take place next week. The outstanding 3,300,000 shares have been delayed after running into transfer issues in Asia, but is expected to be completed imminently.

The company's shares climbed over 3% to 14.5p.

The FTSE 100 (UKX) was up 28 points to 5295, with Mexican miner Fresnillo (FRES) leading the way.

Indices in Asia were on the back foot on Friday, with the Nikkei falling to exacerbate its fourth successive week of falls. Shares in electronic goods maker Sony fell after it announced a new growth strategy, although losses on the index were given some respectibility by a strong banking sector.

The Nikkei fell 52 points to 9498, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong slumped 191 points to 22452 as metal shares continued to slide.

US markets tumbled on Thursday, as economic data heightened investors' already fragile confidence in the strength of a recovery, while downgrades in the tech sector also weighed heavily.

Fears of a rising inventory surplus led Bank of America Merrill Lynch to cut its outlook on 10 stocks including sector heavyweight Intel.

The Dow Jones ended the day down 94 points at 10332, while the Nasdaq tumbled 36 to 2157 and the S&P 500 fell 15 to 1095.

Valve and gearbox maker Rotork (ROR) is on track to hit the upper echelons of its full-year forecasts, it said today.

Although the firm said there were signs of increased activity in its key markets, it did report a 3.4% year-on-year fall in orders for the third quarter.

The FTSE 250 firm's order book stood at £125 million at the end of October, it added.

Its shares were up over 1% at 1,223.5p.

Half-year profit at pub group Fuller Smith and Turner (FSTA) rose 18%, it reported today, as the firm managed to defy the recessionary blues.

Adjusted pre-tax profit rose from £12 million to £15.1 million, on the back of revenue which rose 10% to £116.9 million.

Chairman Michael Turner commented: "We are well placed to meet these challenges ahead with strong brands, well-controlled costs and delightful, well-invested, pubs that serve outstanding cask ale and delicious food."

Shares in the FTSE Small Cap firm were up 3.5% to 510p.