Oil price slide hits global markets

Falling crude prices due to fears that the eurozone is slipping into recession hit oil stocks yesterday, dragging Britain’s top share index downwards.

The FTSE 100 Index was 25.88 points lower at 5,670.82 as it surrendered some of Tuesday’s gains despite another round of generally positive retail trading updates for the Christmas period.

Oil majors Royal Dutch Shell and BP, and gas firm BG Group, trimmed the most points from the index. Shell was down 74.5p at 2,327.5p, BP shed 4.3p to 475.3p, and BG Group dropped 30p to 1,448p.

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Other energy companies were also lower amid signs that the cut in gas bills announced by EDF will spark a price war in the sector.

SSE dropped 37p to 1,264p, a decline of 3 per cent, while Scottish Gas-owner Centrica was down by 3.7p at 283.8p.

Sainsbury’s, the UK’s third biggest grocer, saw its shares drop 1 per cent despite revealing a better-than-expected 2.1 per cent rise in like-for-like sales in the 14 weeks to 7 January. Analysts warned that sales were flat if VAT was stripped out, and shares fell 3.8p to 302.1p.

Superdry owner SuperGroup lost earlier gains to stand 4p lower at 547p, after it reported a “solid” Christmas season, which saw like-for-like retail sales rise 5.8 per cent. And bakery chain Greggs fell 1p to 517.5p despite posting an “excellent” 10.8 per cent jump in sales in the five weeks to 7 January.

Housebuilding and construction group Galliford Try saw shares rise after it reported a 59 per cent increase in completions in the second half of last year. It added 7.6p to 475p.

Royal Bank of Scotland rose 3 per cent or 0.7p to 21.8p amid speculation it was set to unveil thousands of job cuts and a restructuring at its investment banking division today.

NEW YORK: Wall Street held firm near recent five-month highs last night as markets awaited key bond market tests for Europe that could determine the direction of the eurozone crisis.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 14.45 points, or 0.12 per cent, at 12,448.02 but the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index closed up 0.26 point, or 0.02 per cent, at 1,292.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 7.96 points, or 0.29 per cent, at 2,710.46.