FTSE down as BP and Vodafone sell off assets

London’s leading share index dropped below the 6,000 mark this morning as BP and Vodafone sold off parts of their asset base.

The index was down 0.23% at 5,996, falling from Friday's close at 6,009, after UK shares were buoyed by positive US economic data.

This morning, oil giant BP announced it is set to sell its subsidiary Arco Aluminium to a consortium of Japanese firms for $680m in cash.

Telecoms company Vodafone's sale of its 44% holding in SFR, a French mobile phone group, to Vivendi for £6.9bn is part of a raft of minority stake sales. by the firm.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones hit a 2011 high in early trading on Friday and closed up 0.5% at 12,376.

US shares were boosted at the end of last week after the latest unemployment report showed the number of people out of work had fallen to a two-year low. The S&P 500 was up 0.5% at 1,332.

Germany's Dax was up 1.97% at 7,179 while France's Cac was up 1.64% at 4,054.

Meanwhile Japan's Nikkei 225 closed up 0.1% at 9718, despite a survey by the Bank of Japan showing business sentiment is likely to decline in the coming months.

The yen's weakening against the US dollar also increased optimism about Japan's exporters. The currency was trading near 84.18 yen to the dollar during Asian trading hours.