THE FTSE 100 closed up 15.11 points on Wednesday at 4324.19 as caution dominated following news that unemployment claims have risen at the fastest rate since 1991.

Dec 18 2008 by Graeme King, The Journal

On the upside, miner Anglo American jumped 84p to 1650p as the company stated that it is to slash capital spending next year by more than $4.5 billion in response to deteriorating economic conditions.

Private equity firm 3I reversed its recent slide gaining 14.2p to 257.5p. 3I

Airline British Airways rose 8.70p to 171.9p after announcing that it is to drop its fuel surcharge by as much as a third on long haul services from December 18.

HSBC slumped 43.2p to 671.75, Royal Bank of Scotland lost 2.4p to 50.6p and HBOS fell 4.3p to 67.7p. Insurance stock Admiral declined 34.5p to 854.5p following a broker downgrade after a period of relative outperformance from the stock.

Finally in the utilities sector United Utilities, also the subject of negative broker comment ended the session down 16p at 584p.

Michelle Stansby - Associate Director - Investment Manager Barclays Wealth