RBS feels the pain as British Airways’ parent IAG soars on a stolid day for the FTSE 100
The FTSE 100 ended the week with less bang, more whimper on Friday as it dipped by 0.38 per cent. London’s main index dipped below 7,200 points briefly before recovering to close at 7,243.70 points.
The weaker pound, which fell to lows of $1.2483 US dollars in spot trading in the late afternoon, did little to sustain stocks starved for the most part of good news.
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was by far the most interesting story in the capital at the end of the week, with results described as “impressively bad” by Jasper Lawler, senior market analyst at London Capital Group.
Read more: RBS has slashed bonuses
Shares fell by 4.49 per cent after the bank revealed losses of £7bn, to post a painful ninth year in a row of losses despite recent moves to finally lay to rest competition issues around its Williams & Glyn branches, one of the remaining headaches from the financial crisis hangover.
Miners had a tough day as well, with shares in Rio Tinto falling by three per cent, and BHP Billiton close behind with a fall of 2.93 per cent for the day.
At the other end of the FTSE British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) soared as profits lifted off despite the weaker pound since the EU referendum. Shares rose by 4.46 per cent to hit their highest point since before the 23 June vote.
Read more: IAG reveals a share buyback programme after strong 2016 performance
Meanwhile publisher Pearson saw a small bump as a reward for being upfront about losses earlier in the year. In mid-January a share was worth more than £8, but that plunged to 573p after it warned on profits.
The long slog back has started, with shares approaching £7 before closing at 657p, a 1.7 per cent gain.