Banks keep FTSE 100 out of the red

The banking sector has kept the FTSE 100 Index out of the red and offset falls from heavily-weighted miners.

The Footsie closed 2.1 points higher at 6087.4 after struggling to make headway throughout the session, with a similar picture on Wall Street as investor confidence was shaken by worse-than-expected US inflation and unemployment data and emerging political unrest in Libya, Bahrain and Iran.

The US Labour department reported a higher-than-expected increase in unemployment claims last week and inflation increased on a monthly basis at an above forecast 0.4% in January.

In London, miners also weighed the market down as copper prices stumbled to three-week lows, with Anglo-Swiss firm Xstrata down 3% or 37p at 1440p, while copper miner Kazakhmys was not far behind, dropping 33p at 1505p.

The pound was boosted by a hawkish speech from Bank of England policymaker Andrew Sentance, who stepped up his case in favour of an interest rate hike. Sterling rose to 1.61 US dollars and 1.18 euros.

In corporate news, BAE Systems sank to the bottom of the FTSE 100, losing 4% or 14.8p at 340.9p, after the defence giant warned sales were likely to fall in 2011.

Shares in B&Q parent Kingfisher dropped 0.8p to 256.5p despite forecasting a 20% rise in annual profits. The group said strong international growth helped to offset continued tough trading in the UK as full-year profits are expected to be at the top end of analysts’ expectations.

Banks littered the risers’ board as confidence in the sector was boosted by upbeat earnings from Barclays and French giant Societe Generale.

Royal Bank of Scotland led the sector, adding 1.8p to 49p, while Lloyds was not far behind, up 1.98p at 69.2p. Barclays was also on the rise, up 1.6p at 333.6p, while HSBC climbed 9.4p to 730.9p.

This marks the third session in which banks have outperformed the market after Barclays announced a 32% rise in pre-tax profits to £6.1 billion on Tuesday.