Banking and mining sectors fall on FTSE 100
Banking and mining stocks were still weighing on the FTSE 100 in early trading as last week's rally begins to reverse.
Banking and mining sectors fall on FTSE 100" class="imageframe alignright" height="200" src="http://pictures.directnews.co.uk/liveimages/City+of+London_1455_19166336_0_0_11286_300.jpg" width="200"/>Banking and mining stocks were still weighing on the FTSE 100 in early trading as last week's rally begins to reverse.
Land Securities Group led the decline with a 6.4 per cent fall after revealing a substantial loss for the year, followed by Kazakhmys, down by 4.88 per cent and Lloyds Banking Group, which fell 4.6 per cent.
Shares in Sainsbury's also dipped after the retailer reported a 2.7 per cent fall in pre-tax profit for the year despite a 4.5 per cent rise in like-for-like sales.
Food and drinks majors helped support the index, with Compass Group up by 7.14 per cent after announcing a 38 per cent jump in pre-tax profits and Unilever up by 3.6 per cent.
Defensive stocks such as AstraZeneca were also back in favour, with the pharmaceutical firm rising by 2.01 per cent.
Investors will be watching the Bank of England Inflation Report out later this morning, which will show the central bank's prediction for growth and inflation.