Markets: Weir escapes rout after Spanish fears

By DOMINIC JEFF
Published on 20/07/2012 22:55

FORECAST-BEATING results from two American oilfield services firms helped Scotland’s Weir Group avoid the rout across European markets yesterday.

The Glasgow-based firm was 6p higher at 1,531p after energy service companies Baker Hughes and Schlumberger reported better-than-expected figures.

It was one of few risers on a day when the eurozone debt crisis returned to the fore. The FTSE 100 Index undid most of its gains of the previous two sessions, closing down 62.4 points or 1.1 per cent at 5,651.8 as concerns emerged over the detail of Spain’s banking bail-out and the country’s short-term bond costs threatened to price it out of the debt market.

Banking stocks were among the worst hit given fears over their exposure, with Barclays down 5p at 159.3p, HSBC off 16.2p to 533.2p and Royal Bank of Scotland slipping 7.6p to 204.7p.

Disappointing first-quarter figures from mobile phone giant Vodafone added to the gloom. Its shares suffered a 2 per cent drop – down 3.1p to 180p – after it posted a 7.7 per cent decline in reported revenues.

Other movers in the top flight included G4S, which fell a further 1.7p to 241.8p despite its insistence that losses on its Olympics security contract remained within the £35 million to £50m range.

NEW YORK: Wall Street fell last night as Europe’s debt crisis flared up again on fears Spain may eventually need a bail-out, prompting traders to cash in three days of gains.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 120.79 points, or 0.93 per cent, to close at 12,822.57 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index ended down 13.85 points, or 1.01 per cent, at 1,362.66. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 40.60 points, or 1.37 per cent, at 2,925.30 at the close.