Rising Tesco shares help save FTSE from further dive

pound weighed less heavily on the FTSE-100. The pound rose about 0.2 per cent against the greenback to trade at 1.314 but was down 0.6 per cent versus the euro at 1.116.

Tesco shares helped support the FTSE-100, rising 11.05p to 188.05p, as investors reacted to news that the supermarket giant was given the provisional green light by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for its £3.7bn takeover of wholesale group Booker.

Booker ended the day as one of the best performers on the FTSE-250, up 13.4p at 212p.

Sterling spent most of the day in the red against both the US dollar and euro, but was mixed in late afternoon trading as investors digested UK inflation data.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of inflation came in at three per cent for October, unchanged from a five-year high in September. David Madden, a market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: “The CPI report held steady at three per cent, while economists were expecting it to tick up to 3.1 per cent. It is still well above the Bank of England’s target of two per cent, but the relief that it didn’t tick higher again initially nudged the pound lower.”

Brent crude prices tumbled 1.8 per cent to $61.88 per barrel after a monthly report by the International Energy Agency gave a downbeat forecast for oil demand, raising fears of an extended global energy glut.

In UK stocks, mining firms were among the worst performers after Chinese data covering fixed asset investment, industrial production and retail sales came in “below expectations and grew at a slower rate in the previous month,” Mr Madden explained. It sent down 107p at 3,592p, down 42p at 1,455p,

down 25.5p at and 949p.

shares also sunk, ending the day down 4p at 150p, after cautioning over an ongoing hit to advertiser confidence from Brexit uncertainty.

nearly topped the FTSE-100, rising 11.05p at 227.05p, as the telecoms giant swung to a profit and upped its growth outlook.

The biggest risers on the FTSE-100 were Tesco up 11.05p to 188.05p, Vodafone up 11.05p at 227.05p, up 52p at 2,709p, and up 53p at 2,853p. The biggest fallers on the FTSE-100 were Rio Tinto down 107p at 3,592p, Anglo American down 42p at 1,455p, Antofagasta down 25.5p at 949p and ITV down 4p at 150p. US stock indexes fell yesterday as shares plunged for a second day and a drop in crude oil prices hit energy stocks.

GE fell 5.9 percent to $17.90 in the largest daily volume in two years as investors wondered if a massive overhaul of the company would be enough to revive it.

The stock touched $17.46, its lowest in nearly six years.

Energy was the largest decliner among the 11 S&P 500 sectors as oil prices fell the most in a month. The International Energy Agency forecast rising U.S. crude output and had a gloomy outlook for global demand growth.

fell 0.8 percent and

was down 2.5 percent, while the S&P 500 energy sector fell 1.5 percent, the most in more than four months.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 30.23 points, or 0.13 percent, to end at 23,409.47, the S&P 500 lost 5.97 points, or 0.23 percent, to 2,578.87 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 19.72 points, or 0.29 percent, to 6,737.87.

Utilities and consumer staples, sectors that pay relatively high dividends, were the best performers on the day. Utilities rose 1.2 percent for a 2.4 percent gain since Friday’s close, the largest two-day percentage gain since late February.

The S&P 500 fell for the third session in the last four, but it remains within 1 percent of a record closing high it hit last week.