Updates from Centrica, Shell and AstraZeneca

A 34-point drift for the Big Board on Wednesday, slipping to 6,773.4. Antofagasta and GKN both saw major share slips, down 4.56% (to 816p) and 4.02% (to 351p) respectively. Sainsbury's shares also suffered, down almost 3% to 313.8p after Morgan Stanley reined in their recommendation on the stock. Barclays shares, in contrast, surged 4.34% to 228.4p despite news that Barclays profits had been hit by 10%.

Over in the US, the Dow Jones lost more ground, down 31.7 points to 16,880.3 despite the Fed claiming the American economy was strengthening. %VIRTUAL-SkimlinksPromo%