London close: Footsie scuppered by Tesco

London struggled all day after a grim performance by supermarket Tesco and disappointing US unemployment data in the afternoon.The Bank of England's decision to leave interest rates at 0.5% and the asset purchase programme unchanged was as expected.US shares fell back, with the Dow down 14 points after weekly jobless claims climbed to 445,000 last week, some 40,000 more than forecast.Bonds issued by the so-called eurozone 'PIGS' were in demand after Spain successfully auctioned €3bn (£2.5bn) worth of debt. The average yield on the bonds offered by the Spanish government was 4.452%, lower than most pundits had been expecting. Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking rose in sympathy.Tesco took a beating after claiming the snow and ice caused weaker than expected UK like for like sales. Like for like sales in the UK for the six weeks to 8 January were up just 0.6% - about half the figure analysts had predicted - and total sales grew 4.2%.Rupert Murdoch's hopes for a swift takeover of satellite broadcaster BSkyB seem to have been dashed after regulator Ofcom decided a full inquiry by the Competition Commission is required.Royal Dutch Shell was a weak spot on talk that it is guiding down its earnings outlook. Engineer IMI climbed sharply as BofA Merrill Lynch upgraded its rating to "buy."Electrical retailer Dixons tumbled after it said wintery weather ahead of Christmas kept some shoppers away,though trading improved from Boxing day as customers stocked up on 3D TVs and other must have gadgets ahead of the January VAT rise.Home Retail Group expects full-year pre-tax profits to come in at the mid-point of its previously guided range of £250m to £275m after both of its brands performed in line with expectations. Sales at the catalogue-based chain Argos fell by 3.2% to £1.861bn in the 18 weeks to 1 January, or by 4.9% on a like-for-like basis, stripping out the benefit of new stores. Kingfisher, the owner of the B&Q chain, climbs in sympathyBike and car parts seller Halfords saw the fall-off in like for like (LFL) sales accelerate in the final quarter of 2010, and the group now expects full year profits will be at the lower end of market expectations.Game Group jumped after reporting an improving sales trend over Christmas 'despite a difficult pc and video games marketplace and adverse weather.'Fashion retailer Jacques Vert unveiled a 7% rise in half year pre-tax profit, aided by progress at its online business, but it remains cautious for the remainder of the year. Pre-tax profit rose to £3.1m for the 26 weeks ended 23 October 2010 from £2.9m the same a year before. Sales for the period increased to £56.5m from £55.8m while like for like sales were up 3.1%.There was only a little griping about the poor weather from Booker, as the cash and carry wholesale group saw continued healthy growth in like for like (LFL) sales in the final 16 weeks of 2010. In the 16 weeks to 31 December 2010 total sales rose by 7.2% and LFL sales rose by 5.4%, driven by strong demand for fruit and vegetables. Non-tobacco LFL sales rose by 5.5%, while LFL tobacco sales increased by 5.1%. Self storage firm Big Yellow grew annualised store revenue by 7% during the third quarter and has made a good start to 2011. Revenue rose to £58.9m at its 51 wholly owned stores in the last three months of 2010, up from £55.1m the year before. Total store revenue rose to £15m from £14m, but is down from £15.5m at the end of September. Estimated average production for Premier Oil declined in 2010 as the oil and gas producer saw increased maintenance activity in the North Sea, particularly in the second half of the year.Infrastructure contractor Balfour Beatty said 2010 trading was in line with expectations. The Professional Services division's performance has exceeded expectations despite the continuing delay in the re-authorisation of the Highways Bill in the US.The flooding in Queensland, Australia that has caused widespread disruption to Rio Tinto's coal operations has also hit its aluminium activities, the mining giant has reported. It said its aluminium arm Rio Tinto Alcan has experienced a force majeure event, impacting the supply of the aluminium from Boyne Smelters near Gladstone.Filtrona is one of today's best performers. The speciality plastic and fibre products supplier said performance was 'consistently strong throughout 2010'. Since the company made its interim management statement on 20 October the company has continued to trade in line with expectations.FTSE 100 - RisersIMI (IMI) 949.00p +4.23%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 252.00p +3.70%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 42.63p +3.47%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,569.00p +2.89%FTSE 100 - FallersTesco (TSCO) 405.55p -4.28%British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,325.00p -3.57%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,080.00p -3.40%Rexam (REX) 345.80p -2.89%FTSE 250 - RisersAvis Europe (AVE) 240.00p +11.68%Provident Financial (PFG) 999.50p +10.69%Home Retail Group (HOME) 227.10p +10.24%SIG (SHI) 149.50p +9.77%FTSE 250 - FallersDixons Retail (DXNS) 21.35p -10.03%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 560.00p -4.44%Fenner (FENR) 369.60p -4.42%Lamprell (LAM) 323.20p -4.41%