Markets: Tullow stands out amid turmoil

The Africa-focused oil explorer and producer outperformed its peers, topping the FTSE 100 risers’ board after announcing a “very successful” exploration programme in Kenya. Shares closed up 2.7 per cent, or 28p, at 1,061p.

Commodity-based stocks came under pressure, however, with Anglo American leading miners lower with a fall of 6 per cent, or 73p to 1,207p, followed by Vedanta Resources, 30p cheaper at 1,009p, and Glencore Xstrata, 7p lower at 269p.

Other fallers included Barclays after Standard & Poor’s cut its long-term rating on the bank by one notch amid concerns about the impact of continued regulatory pressure. Shares were down 2.25p at 280.75p, while elsewhere in the sector Standard Chartered was off 36p to 1,427.5p and HSBC dropped 13.9p to 680.9p.

Flybe enjoyed a much-needed rally after it announced the appointment of EasyJet’s former chief commercial officer Saad Hammad as chief executive to replace long-term boss Jim French, who is to remain as chairman. Shares jumped 9 per cent to 50.5p.

The benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 74.07 points or 1.2 per cent to 6,229.87.

Brenda Kelly, senior market strategist at IG, said: “For a change, nobody can blame the US Federal Reserve for today’s risk-off mode in equity markets.

“Political upheaval in Egypt and an austerity backlash in the Portuguese government – both of which threaten to re-ignite the eurozone crisis – have led to a strongly negative sentiment. It seems that for now we should accept a summer of market volatility.”

NEW YORK: Wall Street ended slightly higher in a volatile  half-day session yesterday as traders squared positions before today’s Independence Day holiday and tomorrow’s US job market data.

The Dow Jones industrial  average rose 56.14 points or 0.38 per cent, to end at 14,988.55 while the broader S&P 500 gained 1.33 points or 0.08 per cent, to finish at 1,615.41. The Nasdaq Composite added 10.27 points or 0.30 per cent, to close at 3,443.67.