FTSE loses gains amid Libya unrest

The London market fell into the red as violence in Libya showed no signs of stopping and pushed oil prices to new highs.

The FTSE 100 Index lost hold of earlier gains and closed 14 points lower at 5990.39, as oil prices started to rise again after a brief respite on Thursday.

Crude oil surged to its highest level in two and a half years as fighting continued in Libya, hitting 103.65 US dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange while Brent crude in London was up at 115 US dollars.

Reports that a truce could be brokered by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez caused oil prices to ease on Thursday, but the prospect for such a truce appeared increasingly remote after Libyan rebels flatly rejected mediation.

In American, Wall Street’s Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4% despite the Labour Department saying the US economy generated 192,000 jobs in February, up from January’s 63,000.

The new figures topped a week of forecast-beating jobs data, including a weekly drop in unemployment claims and a positive report on private sector jobs. But the latest stats were in line with expectations, meaning a muted reaction from investors..

The pound was down against the euro at 1.16 as the single currency continued to surge on hopes of higher rates. Sterling was also down against the dollar at 1.62.

The impact of surging oil prices was evident on the fallers’ board, as British Airways parent International Consolidated Airlines plunged nearly 3% or 6.8p at 226.8p and Thomson Holidays owner TUI Travel dropped 2.4p at 239.4p.

Advertising agency WPP provided the focus for corporate results after the blue-chip company reported a strong end to 2010 and a 27% rise in full-year profits. It forecast like-for-like revenues growth of 5% this year, but shares slipped 3%, or 22p to 814.5p, following a recent strong run.

The biggest Footsie risers were Serco up 27p at 618.5p, Pearson ahead 37p at 1091p, Petrofac up 46p at 1466p and Resolution ahead 8.9p at 290.2p. The biggest fallers were GKN down 6.3p at 204.8p, International Consolidated Airlines off 6.8p at 226.8p, Carnival down 73p at 2590p and WPP off 22p at 814.5p.