FTSE 100 closes flat

Wednesday 19th August 2009

The FTSE 100 ended flat, with gains in financial and mining stocks balancing a fall in the defensives sector.

The index closed just 0.08 per cent higher at 4,689.67 following a volatile day of trading.

Investors were surprised this morning by the revelation that Bank of England governor Mervyn King wanted to expand the quantitative easing scheme by £75 billion, but was outvoted by fellow monetary policy committee (MPC) members.

But the market recovered, led by Eurasian Natural Resources, which rose by 6.24 per cent, while Fresnillo was up by 5.79 per cent and Serco Group was up by 2.41 per cent.

Lloyds Banking Group was also up, by 2.03 per cent, after the bank said the closure of Cheltenham & Gloucester branches is under review.

Dragging the index down was Scottish & Southern Energy, down by 5.11 per cent, Man Group, down by 3.74 per cent, and Shire, down by 2.51 per cent, among others.

Over in the US, stocks were heading higher after a weak start. The Dow Jones was up by 0.79 per cent going into early afternoon trading, while the S&P 500 was up by 0.59 per cent, as oil prices rose.

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