Markets: Weir shares suffer on news of US peer

WEIR Group was the FTSE 100’s biggest faller yesterday after a US peer posted disappointing results and its mining customers continued to slide amid fears over global growth.

Shares in the Glasgow- headquartered engineering group shed more than 6 per cent after American oilfield services company Baker Hughes said its profit margin would fall below last quarter’s as companies shift from crude to natural gas exploration. Weir was down 123p at 1,859p. But Atif Latif, a director of Guardian Stockbrokers, said the company now presented an “interesting buying opportunity” on a medium-term view.

“On weakness, it represents a sound sector play with concerns on Baker Hughes not looking to have a material impact on the outlook,” he noted.

Sainsbury’s topped London’s leading shares index after revealing better-than-expected sales on an otherwise lacklustre day for the market.

The FTSE 100 index closed almost flat at 5,891.95, down just 0.5 of a point, as traders struggled to find direction in the absence of any surprises in the Budget or any major economic data elsewhere.

Sainsbury’s closed more than 4 per cent or 13.8p higher at 319.3p after like-for-like sales excluding fuel rose 2.6 per cent in the ten weeks to 17 March. The strong trading had a positive impact on Marks & Spencer, which climbed 9.5p to 389.5p, but Tesco suffered as Sainsbury’s boss Justin King highlighted the market share gains enjoyed by his business. Tesco, which issued a rare profits warning towards the start of the year, was off 0.5p at 332.3p.

Vodafone continued its good run of form after Goldman Sachs upgraded the mobile phone operator to its “conviction buy” list. The market heavyweight lifted 0.3 per cent to 171.3p.