Pick of the early market news

Disappointing results from Next and other retailers helped tip the FTSE 100 0.6% lower yesterday; it finished the day at 5,668 points. Oil and utilities stocks proved resilient with both BP and United Utilities seeing modest rises. Across the channel, the French Cac 40 saw a -1.59% slip while the German Dax fell -0.89%. The Dow Jones was up 0.17% at 12,418 at close of business.