At the close of business, the FTSE100 was down 23.31 points at 5,617.26 with the FTSE250 off 10.85 points at 9,854.44 and the FTSE Smallcaps 10.84 points higher at 2,872.26.

NEW YORK

US stocks were slightly lower in late morning trade, hit by disappointing jobs data and concerns over inflation in China, but losses pared by better-than-expected trade statistics.

Approaching the close in London, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 6 points at 10,561, the S&P500 lost a point at 1,144 and the Nasdaq Composite fell a point at 2,357.

LONDON MARKETS

Retailers took centre stage in London today, with Argos and Homebase owner Home Retail Group making good ground after a well-received update, the shares gaining 4.2p at 272p. Home Retail said benchmark profit before tax for the year will be around £290m, slightly ahead of current market expectations.

DIY rival Kingfisher, which owns B&Q, added 7p at 223.7p and midcap owner of the Wickes chain, Travis Perkins, rose 8.5p at 730p on the read across.

Conversely, supermarket operator William Morrison sank 8.5p at 295.7p after a cautious outlook accompanied news of turnover up 6% to £15.4bn in the year to end-January, with profit before tax at £858m compared to £655m the previous year. Total dividend for the year rose 41% to 8.2p. Peer Tesco slipped 1.35p at 436.85p and Sainsbury fell 0.5p at 335.7p, while Marks & Spencer gained 4.6p at 353.7p.

Fashion retailer Next outperformed, 42p higher at 2,020p.

However, oil services firm Petrofac was the best blue chip of the session, ahead 39p at 1,201p.

A successful investor day yesterday did a power of good for holiday operator Thomas Cook as the shares charged towards the top of the leaderboard, up 7.7p at 248.1p. TUI Travel improved 3.99p at 281.3p on the read across.

Financial issues were mixed, with insurer South African insurer Old Mutual the biggest casualty among them, down 1.7p at 121.9p, as investors failed to warm to news it was considering selling off its US business. The firm reported adjusted operating profit before tax of £1.17bn for the year and re-instated a final dividend at 1.5p per share.

Sector peers were mixed in response, although Prudential managed a gain of 11p at 545.5p and Resolution, due for demotion to the midcaps next week, added 0.1p at 73.6p.

Banks were split, with Barclays the worst hit, down 4.1p at 343.75p, Standard Chartered off 9.5p at 1,724.5p and HSBC 11.9p lower at 694.6p. On the upside, Lloyds ticked up 1.28p at 56.54p and RBS added 0.15p at 40.55p.

London Stock Exchange continued its good run, up a further 4p at 729.5p.

Commodity issues had a tough time as metals and oil prices eased on demand concerns following news of rising inflation in China which could prompt a fiscal squeeze.

Kazakhmys took bottom spot in the FTSE100, additionally hit by a downgrade to neutral from buy at Goldman Sachs, sliding 49p at 1,496p, while Rio Tinto was off 59p at 3,701p, Randgold Resources slumped 129p at 4,976p, Anglo American fell 31.5p at 2,678,5p and Xstrata slipped 19p at 1,191.5p.

Oil producer BP fell 1.2p at 623.7p after it announced it will pay Devon Energy $7bn in cash for assets in Brazil, Azerbaijan and the US deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

Prosthetics manufacturer Smith & Nephew was a major casualty, down 18p at 677.5p, on losing a patent dispute, while pharma giant AstraZeneca slumped 17p at 2,933p after announcing a license and supply agreement with India peer Torrent Pharmaceuticals.

British Airways slipped 0.9p at 230.5p after news that strike talks with Unite had ended without agreement.

Down the list, pub operator JD Wetherspoon added 7p at 512p after reporting record half year sales and profits and reinstating its dividend.

Omega Insurance Holdings ticked up 2p at 115.5p on revealing a 67% rise in pretax profit to $47.1m for the year to end-December, helped by a benign US hurricane season.

Regional newspaper publisher Johnston Press slipped 0.75p at 27.5p after reporting a continuing drop in advertising revenue, although the decline had slowed in recent weeks. Story provided by Business Financial Newswire