MARKET REPORT

sank towards the bottom of the FTSE 100 yesterday as it booked a loss on the back of payment protection insurance (PPI) charges and a £1.4bn settlement with the US authorities.

Barclays swung to a loss in the first quarter, reporting a pre-tax loss of £236m for the three months to March 31, having reported profits of £1.68bn in the same period last year.

The bank’s shares fell by 1.41% or 3p, closing the day at 210p, making it one of biggest fallers on London’s blue-chip index.

The FTSE 100 climbed 42.11 points to 7,421.43. The pound was flat against the US dollar at 1.392. Against the euro, sterling was up 0.38% to 1.149.

Brent crude prices pushed higher again, rising by 0.34% to 74.310 US dollars per barrel.

In UK stocks, shares in

dipped after the housebuilder reported a slowdown in sales and build rates, which were partly affected by extreme weather in March.

In a trading update covering the first four months of the year, the group said the value of its order book fell 2.5% to £2.16bn. Shares closed the day

Royal Dutch

down 2.8p at 190.05p.

posted its highest quarterly profit for at least three years thanks to resurgent oil prices. However, its shares closed the day down 26p at 2,502.5p.

The oil giant reported a 42% rise in underlying quarterly profits to $5.3bn (£3.8 bn) for the first three months of the year.

Oil giant named energy industry veteran Helge Lund as its next chairman, succeeding Carl-Henric Svanberg. Following the announcement, shares rose 11.3p to 535.3p.

Embattled retailer won backing for a restructuring plan that will spark store closures and hundreds of job losses. Shares ended the session up 1p to 39p.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were up 27.9p to 449.4p,

up 22.8p to 737.6p, up 56p to 1925.5p, and

up 115.5p to 3,965.5p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were down 11.3p to 267.1p, down 26p to 1,251p, down 7.15p to 370.05p and down 5.6p to 369.1p.