MARKET CLOSE
FTSE100, the UK's premier share index, closed out the year around 25 points lower in a curtailed trading day, as investors look to see the New Year in.
The benchmark index closed out at 6,248, or 0.41% lower with credit data firm Experian (LON:EXPN) the biggest laggard- down almost 2% at 1,198.00p.
The FTSE100 started the year at 6,600 so it has dropped over 5% on the year.
The AIM market closed at 3,521 - 0.36% up on the day and around a 13% increase since the beginning of 2015.
On a day of low volumes, Footsie investors were put off by a lack of data drivers and the weak oil price.
Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, said: " With no real macro-direction, and painfully little data, the global indices continued their crawl towards the 2015 finish line this Thursday."
He added: "After a year that began so promisingly the markets are wrapping up 2015 in the limpest way possible, a collective sigh instead of any attempt at New Year’s Eve fireworks.
Josh Mahony, at IG Index, noted there was a feeling that 2016 will represent the conclusion of monetary policy expansion for the UK, following on from this month’s Fed rate hike.
The biggest gainer was Vodafone (LON:VOD), which added 1.61% to 221p as there were more reports that suggested it was in talks about a merger with cable company Liberty Global.
Sports Direct (LON:SPD) gained 1.32% to 577p as it responded to criticism of its working practices and promised that all staff will receive more than the minimum wage from the start of the New Year.
The new policy followed investigations of its use of zero hours contracts and working conditions by both the Guardian and BBC.
BP (LON:BP.) edged 0.32% lower as news emerged that it had to evacuate all 235 staff from the Valhall rig in the North Sea after a runaway barge drifted near to the platform.
In small caps, Ortac Resources (LON:OTC) surged over 28% to 0.05p as yesterday, it said it was looking forward to more good news from the Zamsort operation in Zambia where a commercial scale demonstration plant has been built.
URU Metals (LON:URU) shared dropped over 9% to stand at 0.5p each as its interim results disappointed.
Vast Resources (LON:VAST) dropped around 11% to 0.80p as it also posted interim results for the six months to end September.
Among the notable AIM winners this year was life sciences firm Optibiotix (LON:OPTI) - the seventh biggest gainer of the year. Its shares stand today at 89.5p having started the year at 20.27p - around a 341% increase
And a recent oversubscribed placing, delivery by management who also took part in the placing to the tune of £110,000, and a new target share price of 95.4p by its house broker, Hybridan suggest there is more to come.
OptiBiotix chief executive Stephen O'Hara recently said this all augurs well for shareholders in 2016 as the company now has a broad range of platforms with numerous product and numerous partnering opportunities.
"We look forward to an exciting start to 2016 and continued strong progress on both commercial and scientific opportunities," he said.
The best AIM riser was Pantheon Resources (LON:PANR), which added 833% to 154p, while Oracle Coalfields (LON:ORCP) also did well, gaining 416% to 2.33p.
MARKET OPEN
FTSE100, as tipped by spreadbetters, fell in early deals on a truncated trading day, with big supermarket Sainsbury's (LON:SBRY) the biggest laggard.
Its shares slid 3.02% down the aisle to 253.8p at a time when retail is in focus during the festive period.
It comes after three days ago, the UK’s competition (CMA) watchdog started an investigation into the group's sale of its pharmacies to the owner of Lloyds Pharmacy.
FTSE100 was down around 17 points at 6,257 at the time of writing, on a day where volumes were low.
Brent crude was down 2.42% to US$36.71 at the time of writing as the price of the black gold continues to affect investor sentiment.
Concerns about a glut were heightened yesterday after US data showed stockpiles of US oil rose by 2.6mln barrels in the week to Christmas Day compared to the previous week. Analysts had expected the opposite - a drop of around 1mln barrels.
The biggest corporate gainer was mobile phone giant Vodafone (LON:VOD), which added 1.45% to 220.65p.
It was on the back if reports that suggested it was in talks about a merger with cable company Liberty Global.
Online delivery firm Ocado (LON:OCDO) dropped 4.95% to 299.40p as it emerged US listed online auction giant Amazon was expanding its UK grocery offering.
Miners were also down with silver group Fresnillo (LON:FRES) dropping 1.83% and Antofagasta (LON:ANTO), the copper major, shedding 1.17%.
In small caps, URU Metals (LON:URU) shared dropped over 9% to stand at 0.5p each as its interim results disappointed.
Vast Resources (LON:VAST) dropped over 8% to 0.83p as it also posted interim results for the six months to end September.
Ortac Resources (LON:OTC) added over 28% to 0.05p. Yesterday, it said it was looking forward to more good news from the Zamsort operation in Zambia where a commercial scale demonstration plant has been built.
At Zamsort, which will make copper cement and cobalt hydroxide filter cake, the company has a ten year small mining licence and commissioning is expected in the second quarter of 2016.
MARKET PREVIEW
Britain's blue chip index is poised to open lower on a shortened trading day after shares in Europe and the US fell yesterday.
As traders gear up to see the New Year in, FTSE100 is tipped to open around 18 points lower by spreadbetters at IG index, having dropped 41 points to 6,274 on Wednesday as the fall in the price of crude sent ripple through markets.
The London Stock Exchange is due to have wrapped up trading by 12.30pm today - New Year's Eve..
Brent crude fell yesterday 2.3% to US$36.92 while the West Texas Intermediate price dropped 2.7% to US$36.85.
It came as Saudi repeated its commitment to keeping output of the black gold high, fuelling oversupply of the market. Meanwhile, across the pond data showed an increase in crude supplies.
In the US, the benchmark Dow lost 117 points on the day, while the broader S&P500 lost 15 and the tech heavy Nasdaq shed 42 points at 5,066.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index is down 25, while in Japan, which is closed today, the Nikkei 225 added 51 points at 19,053.