Thursday market close: SeaEnergy slides on abandoned well

Aberdeen offshore services group SeaEnergy plunged after a setback for an exploration firm in which it has a sizeable stake.

The FTSE 100 dipped into negative territory. Picture: Getty

Shares ended the session down 1.5p at 8.25p – a decline of 15.4 per cent – following news that the Midleton well in the Celtic Sea is to be plugged and abandoned after failing to find commercial gas volumes.

SeaEnergy owns a stake of almost 18.7 per cent in Lansdowne Oil & Gas, which has a 20 per cent interest in Midleton and saw its shares crash 47.5 per cent or 3.5p to 3.88p on the “disappointing” result.

The wider London market lost momentum after an upbeat start as China tried to dampen fears of further big falls for its currency, following a surprise devaluation of the yuan. The FTSE 100 Index has lost more than 150 points in the last couple of days amid the turmoil caused by the move earlier this week. It initially bounced back today but finished the day 2.86 points lower at 6,568.33.

Chris Beauchamp, senior market analyst at IG, said: “Markets have been calmed by China’s suggestion that the renminbi will now trade in a more stable fashion, although this still shows that China calls the tune. Given the evidence of the past week, if more readjustment is deemed necessary, then it will take place, with little regard for the sentiment of investors in other parts of the world.”

Luxury goods group Burberry has suffered two days of shares falls on developments in China, but edged up 2p to 1,484p, having earlier rallied more than 2 per cent.

Thomson and First Choice owner Tui jumped 69p or 6.6 per cent to 1,114p despite telling investors that it faces an impact of up to £32 million from the terror attack in Tunisia in June that killed 38 tourists, including 33 of its customers. But third-quarter earnings rose and summer trading remains “robust”.