Bullish results from housebuilder Galliford Try and recruitment firm Hays helped the FTSE 250 Index outshine its top-tier partner.
The FTSE 100 Index fell 11.7 points to 5916.6 amid weak eurozone and Chinese economic data and continued worries about whether Greece’s second rescue deal will save the debt ravaged nation from default.
But the mood in the second tier was boosted by a series of better than expected results, helping it rise 0.6% and bucking the wider market trends in Europe and the US.
Wall Street’s Dow Jones Industrial Average followed European markets into the red, as traders weighed up purchasing managers’ index data that revealed the eurozone’s services and manufacturing sector shrank in February.
The pound plunged against all major currencies as minutes from the Bank of England suggested the prospect of further quantitative easing, following the £50bn boost earlier this month. Sterling was down at 1.57 against the dollar and at 1.18 against the euro.
The biggest Footsie risers were Rexam up 28.6p to 413p, Capita ahead 42p to 688.5p, Meggitt up 7.5p at 388.2p, and BG Group ahead 27.5p at 1508p.
The biggest Footsie fallers were Vedanta Resources down 73p at 1380p, Evraz off 15.7p at 397p, Barclays down 8.6p at 239.2p, and Hargreaves Lansdown off 16.5p at 465p.
