Stock Watch

Jan 11 2008 by Peter McCusker, The Journal

THE FTSE 100 yesterday dipped to close 50 points down at 6222.7.

Many had been waiting with bated breath for the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee’s interest rate announcement, most hoping for a cut to stimulate the sluggish economy.

The decision to freeze rates at 5.5% seemed to prompt the market to nosedive as the expectations of the pessimistic majority were realised.

The end of play yielded not a few heavily hit companies, but instead a steady swathe of small losses that served to drag the market down by sheer weight of numbers.

Surprisingly, one of the biggest price drops was for hedge fund manager Man Group, which slipped 4.07%. That translated as a drop of 21.5p to 507p on the back of reports of dramatically lower sales in the most recent quarter.

Given current market conditions, hedge funds have had a record of outperforming the market during downturns and it will be interesting to see whether subscriptions rise if the downturn continues.

Joining Man Group was Tullow Oil – down 33.5p to 594.5p; HBos, which dropped 29p to 647.5p; and also First Group, which dipped 32.5p to 682.5.

On the winners’ list was J Sainsbury, which leapt 6.3% to close at 388.25p, up 23p. The news will come as welcome halt to the steady slide the supermarket has experienced since the collapse of last year’s proposed Dubai takeover.

Michelle Stansby Investment manager, associate director, Barclays Wealth.