A late rally was not enough to enable Footsie to move back into the positive territory it had occupied throughout most of the morning.

Stocks had turned lower in the afternoon session as reports emerged that Wednesday´s scheduled meeting of European Union Finance Ministers (ECOFIN), has been rescheduled to later in the week.

Finance Ministers were expected to rubber-stamp agreements that were set to be unveiled at the evening summit meeting of EU leaders tomorrow, but things clearly have not gone according to plan.

"Further work at the level of ministers of finance will be conducted based on the outcome of the heads-of-state meeting. The aim is to adopt all necessary elements and details concerning the package, as promptly as possible," the government of Poland said in a statement.

FINANCIALS TAKE A BATTERING

Banks, predictably, took news of the ECOFIN cancellation hard, but there were other financial stocks also having a torrid time of it.

Property groups Hammerson, British Land, Land Securities and Capital Shopping took a tumble, as they often do when banks are on the retreat, while inter-dealer brokers ICAP and Tullett Prebon were friendless after UBS issued a bearish research note on the sector.

MIXED REACTION TO THE BIG RESULTS

Oil and gas titans BG Group and BP had got the day off to a bright start, with well received results.

BG Group raised its liquefied natural gas (LNG) operating profit guidance for 2011 after the division outperformed its expectations in the third quarter. Group adjusted net income of $1.02bn was around 5% ahead of consensus estimates.

With BP, the market chatter was all about the company drawing a line under last year's Gulf of Mexico tragedy. BP's chief executive, Bob Dudley, promised to to build a "stronger and safer" company, as he unveiled plans to sell-off more low-returning assets and invest in higher-growth opportunities.

Shares in Cillit Bang, Clearasil and Strepsils maker Reckitt Benckiser took a tumble on Tuesday after its chief executive warned of slower growth in its pharmaceuticals division.

Meanwhile, chip-designer ARM had an up-and-down day after it released its third quarter figures. These were ahead of market expectations, but a duff set of results and a gloomy sale forecast from French chip-maker ST Microelectronics had some holders heading for the exits during the mid-session.

CARPETRIGHT SHARES FIND A FLOOR

Shares in flooring specialist Carpetright, down by a third over the last year, bounced higher despite group sales falling 5.2% in the second quarter. While broker Seymour Pierce kept its sell rating on the stock, retail analyst Kate Calvert said, "Carpetright has a dominant market position, cash generation and balance sheet backing to ride out this downturn."

Fund manager F&C Asset Management unveiled the results of its strategic review, and the verdict was generally favourable. the group is to focus more on the insurances and defined benefit pension fund market, where its perceived expertise in the bond markets will offer a competitive advantage. Singer Capital Markets put its numbers under review, saying that it could lead to "potentially significant upgrades" to next year's forecasts.

Down among the tiddlers, educational information technology specialist RM went to the top of the class after a board room clear-out that will see chairman Martyn Ratcliffe take over executive duties, as chief executive officer Terry Sweeney gets his coat and heads for the door.

Sweeney's departure seems to have prompted a change of heart on the part of Rob Sirs, who has reversed his decision to leave the company and who will now take on the role of Group Managing Director, reporting directly to Ratcliffe.


FTSE 100 - Risers
BP (BP.) 457.20p +4.36%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,710.00p +4.27%
BG Group (BG.) 1,378.00p +3.84%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,263.00p +2.77%
Rolls-Royce Group (RR.) 723.00p +2.55%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 590.00p +2.52%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,276.00p +2.41%
Capita Group (CPI) 730.50p +2.31%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,584.00p +1.80%
Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 281.70p +1.62%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Hammerson (HMSO) 392.00p -4.23%
British Land Co (BLND) 498.70p -4.19%
ICAP (IAP) 410.80p -3.84%
Barclays (BARC) 180.00p -3.59%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 668.00p -3.54%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,330.00p -3.37%
Capital Shopping Centres Group (CSCG) 328.30p -3.30%
Lonmin (LMI) 1,080.00p -2.88%
Diageo (DGE) 1,307.00p -2.75%
Glencore International (GLEN) 408.00p -2.60%

FTSE 250 - Risers
COLT Group SA (COLT) 100.60p +5.84%
Anglo Pacific Group (APF) 273.90p +5.39%
International Personal Finance (IPF) 270.80p +3.75%
Grainger (GRI) 89.50p +3.71%
Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 115.00p +3.42%
Betfair Group (BET) 805.50p +3.27%
Kenmare Resources (KMR) 41.25p +3.15%
Allied Gold Mining (ALD) 152.90p +3.10%
Savills (SVS) 288.20p +2.93%
F&C Asset Management (FCAM) 64.00p +2.65%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Kesa Electricals (KESA) 102.60p -7.23%
Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 35.17p -5.15%
Mothercare (MTC) 182.00p -4.71%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 234.20p -4.13%
Cookson Group (CKSN) 495.70p -3.93%
Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 367.00p -3.73%
SEGRO (SGRO) 237.30p -3.58%
Booker Group (BOK) 76.40p -3.47%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 809.00p -3.06%
Renishaw (RSW) 921.00p -2.75%

FTSE TechMARK - Risers
RM (RM.) 51.00p +17.92%
Asterand (ATD) 2.12p +6.25%
Gresham Computing (GHT) 51.50p +4.04%

FTSE TechMARK - Fallers
Vectura Group (VEC) 67.50p -20.59%
Optos (OPTS) 185.50p -4.26%
Vernalis (VER) 28.50p -4.20%
Triad Group (TRD) 12.00p -4.00%

Related share prices
BP (BP.) share price
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) share price
ARM Holdings (ARM) share price
RM (RM.) share price
Carpetright (CPR) share price
F&C Asset Management (FCAM) share price
ICAP (IAP) share price
Tullett Prebon (TLPR) share price