FTSE closes at low-point of the day as miners rally fades

At the close of play, the FTSE100 was down 55.05 points at 5,190.68 with the FTSE250 off 113.1 points at 8,918.44 and the FTSE Smallcaps 12.51 points lower at 2,717.81.

NEW YORK

US stocks moved lower in late morning trade investors disappointed with lacklustre Black Friday sales numbers.

Approaching the close in London, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 11 points at 10,299, the S&P500 lost 2 points at 1,090 and the Nasdaq Composite edged down 10 points at 2,129.

LONDON MARKETS

Weakness in the financial sector and a poor showing from commodity issues ensured that London markets closed the last session of the month firmly in the red.

Banking shares remained lower in reaction to a tumbling Dubai bourse, with Lloyds Banking Group the worst performer in the FTSE100, down 3.45p at 55.15p, Royal Bank of Scotland fell 1.55p at 33.18p and Barclays edged down 5.5p at 292.35p. However, HSBC bucked the trend, adding 0.7p at 707p.

Aberdeen Asset Management provided another rare bright light in financial circles, rising 0.9p at 139.9p after reporting that assets under management increased to 146.2bn in the year to end-September, thanks largely to its acquisition of Credit Suisse assets earlier in the year. Profits, meanwhile, slumped 20%.