FTSE 100 close: Buildings firm CRH lifts London index as it readies for New York departure

London’s FTSE 100 reversed an early morning slide today to finish in the black, lifted higher building giant CRH topping the index despite announcing it is mulling re-listing in New York.

The capital’s premier index jumped 0.37 per cent to 7,944.05 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, finished broadly unchanged at just below the 20,000 point mark.

Building materials giant CRH today said it is planning to move its main shares from the UK to the US.

The Ireland-based firm said the US now accounts for around three-quarters of its earnings and was likely to be “a key driver of future growth”.

Its shares shot to the top of the FTSE 100, scaling nearly eight per cent.

HSBC led declines in the banking sector on the FTSE 100, shedding nearly four per cent, while Barclays and Lloyds Bank were each trading toward the bottom of the capital’s top index.

Chair of the committee Harriett Baldwin said today: “It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that our biggest banks are taking advantage of their most loyal customers to increase profits and CEO pay. The most powerful tool consumers have is to take their money elsewhere. But the banks also have a responsibility here. They need to step up and offer our constituents reasonable savings rates.”

London shares were caught up in a downward shift across Europe.

FTSE 100 has whipsawed over past week

Germany’s Dax index, its FTSE 100 equivalent, edged lower, as did Paris’s Cac 40.

Victoria Scholar, Head of Investment, interactive investor says, “European markets have opened lower with the DAX in Germany leading the declines.”

Bookmaker and Paddy Power owner Flutter was among worst performers today after it posted losses of more than £300m

Insurer Beazley slid more than five per cent and to the bottom of the index after it said today a bet on government bonds had soured.

The pound weakened around 0.7 per cent against the US dollar after Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey yesterday sent mixed messages about the path of interest rates in the coming months.

Oil climbed around 0.6 per cent.