THE London market’s recent rally ran out of steam today amid further falls for beleaguered oil giant BP.
Miners went into reverse after surging yesterday on Beijing’s move to determine its exchange rate from multiple currencies, a move which promised to give a boost to the global economy.
The FTSE 100 Index, which closed almost 50 points higher yesterday, was down 26.3 points to 5272.8 as investors awaited details of tax rises and spending cuts in Chancellor George Osborne’s emergency budget.
One of the biggest moves of the session came from leisure group Whitbread after it reported a strong performance from its Premier Inn hotels chain.
Premier’s like-for-like sales jumped 10.5% in the first quarter as the division benefited from increased marketing and the roll-out of more value-for-money weekend offers.
Whitbread shares were at the top of the Footsie risers board with a gain of 56p to 1534p, while Holiday Inn chain InterContinental Hotels lifted 8p to 1216p.
BP continued to suffer after a drop of 7.5p to 342p, but Royal Dutch Shell was near to its opening mark with a fall of 1.5p to 1782.5p. Among the miners, BHP Billiton declined 33p to 1998.5p and Rio Tinto dipped 46.5p to 3443.5p.
