FTSE underperforms European shares as oil and energy stocks fall

Britain's top share index was steady on Monday, giving away early gains after falls on Wall Street and underperforming continental European shares as heavily weighted oil and energy companies dropped. Brent oil fell 5 percent, dropping below $48 a barrel to near six-year lows following a cut in short-term forecasts by Goldman Sachs.
The UK oil and gas index, which features major oil companies such as Royal Dutch Shell and BP, was down 1.5 percent, extending falls after US stocks dipped in early trade. Mid-cap oil and gas producer Afren slipped 30.5 percent after saying it was considering options for its operations in Barda Rash in Iraqi Kurdistan, citing poor drilling results.
Mining companies, which are also sensitive to concern that global growth may be weakening, dropped as copper fell to its lowest in over five years. The FTSE 350 mining sector was down 1.8 percent. "The oil price fall initially reflected concerns about oversupply, but now we're seeing concerns over demand compound matters, so other commodity-related stocks are being hit," said Jeremy Batstone-Carr, a market analyst at Charles Stanley.
Domestic energy suppliers also came under pressure. SSE fell 5.8 percent, the biggest loss in the FTSE 100 index. Sector peer Centrica fell 2.9 percent. Britain's opposition Labour Party said that before May's election it would try to introduce a law enabling energy regulators to force companies to cut prices when wholesale costs fall. That will put utilities under more pressure to pass on the declining price of energy to consumers.
Britain's FTSE 100 index was little changed at 6,501.42, up just 0.28 points. By comparison, Germany's DAX and France's CAC, which have less exposure to oil producers, were up over 1 percent. Raised expectations of European Central Bank action to help fight deflationary pressure in the euro zone also stand to boost continental European equities.
The FTSE 100 has fallen 1 percent so far in January, extending December's 2.3 percent drop. GKN rose 3.2 percent, the leading gainer in the FTSE 100, after Credit Suisse raised its price target for the stock to 410 pence from 380 pence and reiterated its "outperform" rating.