Sector movers: Financials flit north as Oil-linked sectors slide south

Finance-related sectors are helping the FTSE eke out minor gains late on Friday afternoon, with blue-chip life insurers, banks and financial services all on the up.

Withing the banking sector, Barclays vaulted ahead after its half-year pre-tax profits slid 21% to £2.06bn, this reflecting the costs of offloading its non-core business.

Its core business made pre-tax profits of £3.97bn, up 19% on the year, while the non-core business made a loss of £1.9bn.

Other factors contributing to financial sector's firmness were Bank of Japan's decision on Friday to kept interest its interest rates steady at -0.1%, lifting its purchases of ETFs to an annual pace of Y6tn, from Y3.3tn.

BoJ also doubled the size of a lending programme for local companies to $24bn.

In the Financial Services segment, Paragon Group's underlying operating profits before fair value items and acquisition-related costs rose 12.1% to £109.9m for the nine months to 30 June.

Industrial Metals & Mining also did well as three-month prices for industrial metals such as tin, aluminium and copper futures zipped ahead. Gold rose on its safe-haven appeal, helped by dollar weakness after BoJ's call.

Meantime, to the south-side, the Oil & Gas Producers' gang was lower, as was the Oil Equipment, Services & Distribution posse. Falls in these sectors were linked to crude's dive on Friday and this week on global supply-glut fears.

The sector for Gas, Water & Multiutilities (GWM) was markedly lower, too.

This should come as no surprise given its sensitivity to US rates. The market has been assessing what the US Federal Reserve might do at its next policy meeting, having stood pat on interest rates on Wednesday.

SSE was lower today, alongside its GWM sector buddies, as watchdog Ofgem confirmed it was launching a probe into the utility company's Pre-Payment Meter processes.

Top performing sectors so far today
Life Insurance 6,677.65 +1.98%
Banks 3,219.54 +1.68%
Industrial Metals & Mining 1,669.36 +1.62%
Health Care Equipment & Services 7,703.46 +1.08%
Financial Services 8,896.67 +1.02%

Bottom performing sectors so far today
Aerospace and Defence 4,630.42 -1.73%
Electricity 8,960.53 -1.47%
Gas, Water & Multiutilities 6,698.99 -1.41%
Oil & Gas Producers 7,219.34 -1.39%
Oil Equipment, Services & Distribution 13,175.00 -1.32%