FTSE barely up

London's top share index closed 0.1 percent higher on Tuesday, recovering only a small part of Monday's sharp falls, as strength in defensive stocks was countered by falls in oils, miners, and banks. At the close, the FTSE 100 was up 2.56 points at 4,328.57, rallying slightly after touching a six-week closing low on Monday when it shed 2.6 percent, as the market's risk appetite cooled and inflation factors came back into play.
The index has surged 25 percent since hitting a six-year trough in March, but is still down 1.9 percent for the year. Gains in defensive telecoms, pharmaceutical, food retail, and tobacco stocks kept the blue chips above water on Tuesday with investors looking to assets perceived as safe bets, as economic concerns resurfaced.
Heavyweight Vodafone added 1.6 percent, while GlaxoSmithKline and British American Tobacco both gained 0.7 percent. "This morning's UK inflation figures came in ahead of expectations, putting inflationary pressures back to the forefront of people's minds and keeping the brakes on a recovery from Monday's sell-off," said Mic Mills, senior trader at spread betters, ETX Capital.
Inflation in Britain slowed much less than expected in May, supporting the view that the UK's struggling economy may be boosted by rising consumer spending. The Office for National Statistics said consumer prices rose 0.6 percent on the month in May, taking the annual rate to 2.2 percent from 2.3 percent in April, but above analysts' forecasts. BT Group was the biggest FTSE 100 gainer, up 8 percent after Morgan Stanley upgraded the telecoms carrier to "overweight" and raised its target price.
Tesco gained 1.5 percent after Britain's largest retailer issued a solid trading update, posting an in-line 9.7 percent rise in first-quarter UK sales. J Sainsbury, which will issue a Q1 trading update on Wednesday, gained 1.1 percent, while William Morrison Supermarkets firmed 0.6 percent. Also on the high street, Argos owner Home Retail Group saw good demand, up 1,7 percent as HSBC upped its rating to "neutral" from "underweight".
Weak oil majors were the biggest drag on the blue chips on Tuesday as an earlier recovery was reversed, although crude prices stabilised around the $72 level after recent falls. BG Group lost 2.2 percent, while BP shed 0.2 percent, and Royal Dutch Shell slipped 0.1 percent. Miners were also big fallers, with the sector under pressure as metal prices stayed well below peaks since late 2008 set last week amid fresh demand concerns.
Rio Tinto was the biggest FTSE 100 faller, down 2.5 percent after the firm said it expects weak commodity markets to continue to hit its bottom line as it launched a $15.2 billion rights offer, the world's fifth-largest share issue. Among other weak blue chips miners, Eurasian Natural Resources, BHP Billiton, Anglo American and Kazakhmys shed between 0.5 and 1.6 percent.
Banks were mixed although the sector was weak, weighed down by falls from HSBC, off 1.6 percent with ongoing concerns over a big holding in the bank owned by a troubled Saudi Arabian investor. Barclays lost 0.6 percent, but Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered, and Lloyds Banking Group gained 0.5 to 3.7 percent.
"You have had the lead from financials and cyclicals. They have done incredibly well and now there is a recognition that perhaps they have done their stuff for the next short while," said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin Securities.