London’s FTSE 100 Index remained under pressure after hefty falls in Asia amid fears plunging oil prices would spell more gloom for global trade.
Far East investors are concerned the low price for Brent crude will worsen the pain for global economies fighting deflation, while spurring major energy companies into making further cuts to jobs and investment.
The FTSE 100 Index was down 10 points to 5,909.4, with the oil price down 20 cents to just under $33.
In stocks, insurer Prudential saw its share price rally 2% or 28.8p to 1246.3p after seeing its stock value tumble more than 8% on Tuesday, as the Chinese government vowed to crackdown on citizens buying insurance products abroad.
It was a mixed picture for oil stocks, with BP’s share price down 1.4p to 333.9p as investors digested its plans to cut a further 3,000 jobs after it posted its largest annual loss for at least 20 years on Tuesday. However, Royal Dutch Shell shares climbed 7p to 1442.5p as traders looked to find value in the company.
Hargreaves Lansdown saw its shares fall, down 5% or 57p to 1260p, despite shrugging off stock market turmoil to report a rise in first-half pre-tax profits.
The financial services firm saw profits rise 6% to £108.1million, but investors were put off after it confirmed its operating margins were coming under pressure.