LONDON (ShareCast) - London finished below 5,700 as Wall Street gave back most of its early gains and UK property majors finished sharply lower.

The leading index remained stuck in the red from lunchtime as housebuilders suffered subsidence after the Nationwide building society reported a fall in house prices for a fifth straight month and now expects a slight fall in inflation for the year as a whole.

Persimmon headed the fallers, but Barratt was also under the cosh. Mortgage lenders HBOS and Alliance & Leicester also reacted badly to the survey.

In the real estate sector British Land and Hammerson remained the worst affected by general gloom over the property market.

But pub owner Enterprise Inns bucked the downward trend as it said trading is in line with last year, though it cautioned that consumer confidence is low and trading conditions continue to be difficult. Investors were cheered by plans to hive off its pub properties into a separate company possibly ahead of a switch to REIT status.

Mining groups did well, boosted by strong metal prices. Vedanta Resources, Antofagasta, Anglo American received an extra lift from Deutsche Bank which upped price targets for the trio. BHP Billiton also moved higher.

The London Stock Exchange was also up on news that it has embarked upon a £500m share repurchase programme.

Lloyds TSB’s Group Executive Director of UK Retail Banking, Terri Dial, has decided to leave the company, it was confirmed today. Dial is rumoured to be joining Citigroup.

In M&A news, Punch Taverns has ended talks with rival Mitchells and Butlers over a straight merger, saying that the terms proposed are no longer in the best interests of its shareholders, though it says it is mulling a possible deal with other parties at a lower price.

In broker news, HSBC has started coverage on drugs group Shire with an “overweight” rating and a 1,177p price target. Goldman Sachs has lowered its rating on Associated British Foods to ‘neutral’ from ‘buy’, citing the company’s recent strong share price performance.

British Airways is one of the major losers after flights at London Heathrow’s new Terminal 5 were cancelled due to problems at the terminal.

Mapeley plummeted after the property firm confirmed that talks regarding a possible offer have been terminated.

Dairy Crest expects full-year results before exceptionals to be in line with expectations, but said the market continues to be challenging.

Regeneration specialist St. Modwen Properties said it still expects growth in the company's net asset value in 2008 from its marshalling and development programme, but at a lower level than in the recent past.

Biometrics and security solutions provider RCG Holdings has signed a collaborative agreement with Malaysian computer company Acer.

Stockbroker and fund manager Brewin Dolphin announced that its first half results are likely to be broadly in line with the results achieved last year.

Africa-focused oil and gas firm Afren saw losses more than double in 2007 due to increased development activities but said the year saw “tremendous operational and acquisition-led progress.”

Africa-focused oil group Bowleven is to raise up to £38m though a placing equivalent to 16% of its share capital after another six months of losses.

Public sector focused software group Civica has agreed a buy-out by management, backed by 3i, worth 270p per share cash or £190m in total.

Rail maintenance specialist Jarvis said it expects performance in the second half of its financial year is likely to show an improvement on the first half and full year results should be in line with management expectations.

Shares in Wagon dropped after the automotive components firm said full year profits will be lower and warned that 2008/09 financial year will also be hampered by a number of factors.

Homeland security specialist Croma swung into pre-tax profit for the half-year thanks to strong divisional performances, adding that it is well placed to exceed market expectations for the year.

Shares in Aminex moved higher after it said the value of its oil and gas reserves in the US rose by two thirds in the year to 31 December to $143m.

General Capital, which provides funding for small and medium enterprises, said current market conditions have impacted its ability to obtain additional funding, which means 2008 results will be lower than current year.

FTSE 100 - Risers
Enterprise Inns (ETI) 409.75p +12.57%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 2,133.00p +3.24%
Cable & Wireless (CW.) 149.20p +2.83%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 675.50p +2.74%
FirstGroup (FGP) 580.50p +2.47%
Reed Elsevier (REL) 643.50p +2.14%
BG Group (BG.) 1,141.00p +1.60%
Prudential (PRU) 672.50p +1.59%
Compass Group (CPG) 325.00p +1.09%
Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) 975.00p +1.04%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Persimmon (PSN) 749.50p -5.07%
British Land Co (BLND) 902.50p -3.37%
Alliance & Leicester (AL.) 523.50p -3.15%
HBOS (HBOS) 540.00p -3.14%
Hammerson (HMSO) 1,084.00p -3.13%
Next (NXT) 1,161.00p -3.09%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 396.25p -3.06%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 346.50p -3.01%
British Airways (BAY) 240.00p -2.93%
International Power (IPR) 391.00p -2.92%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Punch Taverns (PUB) 554.00p +6.85%
Melrose Resources (MRS) 320.00p +6.67%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 291.75p +5.80%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 489.00p +4.43%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 342.50p +3.95%
JPMorgan Indian Inv Trus (JII) 375.50p +3.44%
Informa (INF) 321.50p +3.38%
UK Coal (UKC) 444.00p +3.26%
Hunting (HTG) 832.00p +3.10%
Aveva Group (AVV) 1,110.00p +2.97%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Mapeley (MAY) 1,321.00p -15.16%
Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 478.75p -9.67%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 410.75p -6.22%
DSG International (DSGI) 64.50p -5.49%
Henderson Group (HGI) 108.50p -3.77%
St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 495.00p -3.32%
PV Crystalox Solar (PVCS) 126.00p -3.26%
Mitie Group (MTO) 240.50p -3.22%
Signet Group (SIG) 61.75p -3.14%
Beazley Group (BEZ) 155.00p -2.97%

• News Channel