FTSE dragged down by oil concerns

The London market has been dragged down by fears over the impact higher oil prices will have on inflation and global economic growth.

The FTSE 100 Index closed 20.8 points lower at 5914.8, despite a solid round of earnings from the likes of Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered.

The ongoing crisis in Libya and fears that the unrest might spread to Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, has caused the price of Brent crude to reach 116 US dollars a barrel, while New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) crude hit 100.66 US dollars.

Wall Street’s Dow Jones Industrial Average wavered, but was 0.1% ahead after the ADP payroll report showed US private-sector employment increased by a higher-than-expected 217,000 in February.

Improved construction PMI data for February saw the pound up against the US dollar at 1.63. But sterling was down against the single currency at 1.17 as eurozone producer prices came in well above expectations.

London’s blue-chip fallers board was topped by leisure group Whitbread after it revealed a weaker trend for sales growth in recent weeks. Whitbread explained it was facing tougher comparatives with a year earlier, but the Costa, Premier Inn and Beefeater owner still dropped 5% or 90p to 1644p.

The latest boost from the corporate results season came from Standard Chartered and broadcaster ITV after both delivered full-year results in line with expectations.

Standard, which reported a 19% rise in annual profits and said it had made a record start to 2011, saw shares rally 70p to 1688p, a gain of 4%.

At the end of a result season in which the sector has spared investors any more nasty surprises, banks offered some support to the wider market, with Lloyds Banking Group up 0.9p to 62.7p and Barclays increasing 1.1p to 314.4p.

At ITV, which said its transformation plan gathered momentum following a near-tripling in full-year profits, shares jumped 9% or 7.9p to 93.4p.