Market Report: The FTSE 100’s worst week since early March

The final bell rang out the FTSE 100’s worst week since early March, despite turning higher in its final session.

Reassuring words from Portugal’s troubled Banco Espirito Santo sparked a relief rally, with the Footsie climbing 17.80 points to 6,690.17. But it was still 188.35 points, or 2.74 per cent, lower than it had been a week earlier, when the blue-chip index looked as if it could reach record levels.

Jasper Lawler, an analyst at CMC Markets, said: “The Footsie’s been banging on the door of 6,900 but it’s notable that it can’t get through it. Part of it is the way it’s made up – miners are constantly struggling because of weak performance out of China and the financials have been hit.”

The Greek bottling firm Coca-Cola Hellenic climbed 39p to 1,351p thanks to an upgrade from Goldman Sachs. The investment bank thinks falling sugar prices are a boon for the soft drinks industry, and the world’s second largest bottler of Coca-Cola is well placed to benefit.

Traders piled into gold miners on Thursday as the eurozone crisis threatened to rear its head again, but the calming of the markets yesterday meant a sell-off for the precious metal producers. Randgold Resources fell 115p to 5,120p, Fresnillo lost 17p to 928p, African Barrick Gold slipped 7.2p to 225.3p and Centamin was 2.3p lighter at 67p.

The chemical supplier Synthomer slipped 6.5p to 212p on the FTSE 250, as the maker of products from paint emulsion to mattress foam warned that the strong pound and a slowdown at its Asian business mean profits are likely to be flat this year.

Kofax fell 50.5p to 423p after the small-cap software provider released unaudited full-year results below expectations. The chief executive, Reynolds Bish, said he was “disappointed”, with the US company’s performance.

GCM Resources leapt 19.25p to 38.75p on AIM as rumours circulated that the Bangladeshi coal operator could be close to getting a mining permit at long last.

Alba Mineral Resources ended the day 0.35p better at 0.62p after snapping up a 5 per cent stake in Horse Hill Development, the operator of the UK Weald oil basin south of London.