The London equities markets were mixed on Monday, with the FTSE 100 adding just 0.14 percent to 5,896.9 while the FTSE 250 dropped 0.44 percent to 9,390.1. Volume was very low, at only 2.2 billion shares traded on the session. At that, volume was pushed up by heaving trading in Invensys, at 206 million shares traded, and Standard Life, which traded over 170 million shares in its first day of trade.
British Airways was the best performer on the 100, adding 1.9 percent to 366p as oil prices dropped. Also doing well among stocks listed on the 100 was Vodafone, which was up 1 percent to 119¾p on anticipation of a possible bid for its 45 percent share of Verizon Wireless. Dresdner Kleinwort Wassterstein repeated its “buy” recommendation on the mobile phone company, citing a special dividend of 15p due later in the month.
In the retail sector, Marks & Spencer was up 0.4 percent to 582p ahead of its first-quarter trading update, due Tuesday.
Real estate was mixed, with Land Securities dropping 0.2 percent to £18.67 percent and Hammerson declining by 2.4 percent to £12.11. However, British Land gained 0.2 percent to £13.32 on rumors that it will introduce a new chairman at its annual meeting on Thursday.