Lloyds ahead on house price update

Traders said the latest Halifax report which showed British house prices rose by 0.6 per cent in January was good news for lenders. Lloyds – Britain’s biggest mortgage lender – was up 0.9p at 35.3p, while Royal Bank of Scotland edged 0.1p ahead to 28.8p.

But financial stocks were generally on the back foot as talks on Greek debt restructuring dragged on, leading to fresh fears over the country’s ability to secure the next tranche of its bail-out funds.

A meeting between Greek prime minister Lucas Papademos and leaders of three parties backing his coalition to thrash out an agreement on crucial austerity measures has been pushed back to allow the government to attempt to reach a deal with creditors.

The FTSE 100 Index closed 8.87 points lower at 5,892.2.

But Randgold Resources lifted 2 per cent to near the top of the risers’ board after it reported a strong set of fourth-quarter results.

The gold miner was ahead 165p at 7,565p after it said full-year profits more than trebled to £273.9 million thanks to increased production at its Ivory Coast and Mali projects.

Shares in Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy started trading on a re-rated basis yesterday, without rights to its recent 160p-per-share cash distribution. Cairn’s re-rated shares ended the day at 344.9p, after broker Collins Stewart said the new shares were trading at a 19 per cent discount to the company’s core net asset value. But it added that Cairn needs to disclose a work program involving drilling activity to justify a higher rating.

NEW YORK: Wall Street closed slightly lower last night, as lingering questions about Europe and corporate earnings overshadowed growing optimism about economic growth after a five-week rally.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 18.62 points, or 0.14 per cent, at 12,843.61 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was down 0.72 points, or 0.05 per cent, at 1,344.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index ended down 3.67 points, or 0.13 per cent, at 2,901.99.