(Corrects to change day to Monday from Wednesday in fifth
paragraph)
* Energy stocks fall as demand outlook weakens
* Banks under pressure, hit by Dubai worries
* Travel firms mixed after Thomas Cook results
By Tricia Wright
LONDON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index was 0.8
percent lower by midday on Monday, pulled down by weak energy
stocks and banks, as investors were troubled by lingering
anxiety caused by Dubai's debt problems.
By 1212 GMT, the FTSE 100 <> was down 40.89 points at
5,204.84, having added 1 percent on Friday.
The index suffered a 3.2 percent drop on Thursday, its
biggest one-day percentage fall in eight months, after Dubai
sought a debt standstill for state-owned Dubai World.
The United Arab Emirates offered banks emergency support on
Sunday, the first steps to ease fears that a looming debt
default by two of Dubai's flagship firms could derail the global
economic recovery. []
The problems severely dented the Dubai equity market on
Monday, with the benchmark <> ending down 7.3 percent.
[]
Energy stocks were the biggest drag on the index with crude
prices <CLc1> nearly $4 below the $80 per barrel level set
earlier in the month.
BG Group <BG.L>, BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>, and
Tullow Oil <TLW.L> were off 0.7 to 1.6 percent.
Banks were mostly weaker amid ongoing concerns over
potential exposure to Dubai's debt.
Lloyds Banking Group <LLOY.L> was a top blue-chip faller,
down 5.8 percent as brokers adjusted target prices with the
stock trading ex-rights, while Barclays <BARC.L>, Standard
Chartered <STAN.L>, and Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> shed 1.1
to 4.6 percent.
Heavyweight HSBC <HSBA.L> bucked the sector trend, gaining
0.3 percent after a BofA Merrill Lynch upgrade to "buy" from
"neutral".
London Stock Exchange <LSE.L>, in which Borse Dubai holds a
sizeable stake, shed 1 percent.
"The United Arab Emirates central bank commitment to
providing liquidity for lenders has gone some way to help shore
up confidence amongst investors," said Tim Hughes, head of sales
trading at IG Index.
"In the light of this, today's move in London could equally
just be put down to a normal pullback after Friday's rise," he
said.
U.S. stock index futures edged lower on Monday, with Wall
Street seen extending the previous session's sharp retreat.
MINERS MIXED
It was a mixed picture among miners, however, with some
stocks limiting losses as firmer metals prices lent support.
Lonmin <LMI.L> and Kazakhmys <KAZ.L> fell 1.8 and 1.5
percent, respectively, but Anglo American <AAL.L>, Antofagasta
<ANTO.L> and BHP Billiton <BLT.L> added 0.1 to 0.6 percent.
Travel companies were also mixed. Thomas Cook <TCG.L>
slipped 0.7 percent as investors focused on its warning that
trading conditions could become even more challenging in 2010 as
it posted above-forecast first-half results. []
Peer TUI Travel <TT.L> was a top FTSE 100 riser, up 1.9
percent, with investors confident that its fourth-quarter
results, due on Tuesday would be strong.
Reminding investors of the difficult domestic environment,
British consumer confidence unexpectedly fell this month for the
first time since January, slipping back to its lowest level
since August, a monthly survey by GfK NOP for the European
Commission showed [].
However, the housing market in England and Wales
strengthened modestly in November, with the smallest
year-on-year drop in house prices since May 2008, a survey by
property data company Hometrack showed [].
Britain's services companies turned in a
weaker-than-expected performance in the third quarter but are
more optimistic about the future, a survey by the Confederation
of British Industry showed [].
Data from the United States due for release on Monday
include the Institute for Supply Management New York business
activity numbers at 1330 GMT, Chicago PMI data at 1445 GMT and
U.S Midwest manufacturing data at 1700 GMT.
(Editing by Karen Foster)
((tricia.wright1@thomsonreuters.com. +44 20 7542 8114) Reuters
Messaging: tricia.wright1.reuters.com@reuters.net))
