[July 15, 2011] London market [Daily Post (Liverpool, England)] Tweet (Daily Post (Liverpool, England) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) THE London market closed lower yesterday as improved US jobs data failed to offset fears over the wider economy. The FTSE 100 Index was 59.5 points down, at 5846.95, as credit agency Moody's decision to place US debt on review for a potential downgrade continued to trouble investors. The prospect that the US could lose its AAA status undermined the market's confidence after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's pledge to consider more stimulus measures to boost growth in the world's biggest economy. The announcement from Moody's came on top of ongoing fears about the eurozone debt crisis, as Italy was forced to pay more to borrow money at an auction. There are still concerns about whether Greece could default on its debts after its credit rating was downgraded further into junk status by Fitch. The pound was down against the dollar at 1.61 after the strong jobs data but it was up against the euro at 1.13 on the back of ongoing eurozone debt fears. In London, Associated British Foods jumped 2% after a robust trading update. Sales at Primark increased by 13% in the 40 weeks to June 25. The biggest Footsie risers were Fresnillo, up 75p at 1595p, Lloyds Banking Group, ahead 1.4p at 45.8p, Associated British Foods, up 24p at 1081p and Admiral Group, ahead 32p, at 1579p. The biggest Footsie fallers were Petrofac, down 57p at 1445p, Cairn Energy, off 13.8p at 387.3p, Intercontinental Hotels, down 41p at 1241p and ARM Holdings, off 17p, at 574.5p. (c) 2011 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]