London shares opened lower on Friday amid concerns over the US economy, though the main talking point was a report slamming former managers of collapsed HBOS bank.
The benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 29.01 points or 0.46 percent at 6,315.11 points at 8:43 am.
Overnight gains in the US were capped by a disappointing report on US jobless claims, which unexpectedly rose 28,000 to 385,000 for the week ending March 30, traders said.
Those figures come as markets nervously await the release of key non-farm payrolls data later in the day, with expectations low after huge federal spending cuts came into force at the beginning of last month.
“Given that the US jobless claims data underwhelmed, there is concern the non-farm payrolls will follow suit, and add to the recent run of bearish signals,” William Leys, Sales Trader at CMC Markets wrote in a note to clients.
“If this does occur, another sell-off is on the cards,” he said, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
Lloyds edged up 0.28 percent to 48.28 pence as the banking group was put in the spotlight by an official study of management at HBOS bank, which Lloyds took over amid the 2008 credit crunch.
The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards attacked ex-HBOS chairman Lord Dennis Stevenson and previous chief executives James Crosby and Andy Hornby in a hard-hitting review of the bank’s failure.
The bankers made “toxic” misjudgements and should be barred from working in the financial sector ever again, according to the Commission that is mostly composed of MPs.
Airlines plunged, with British Airways owner IAG sinking 4.80 percent to 240.20 pence and budget carrier Easyjet shedding 3.83 percent to 1,055 pence.
Xstrata dropped 2.43 percent to 1,025 pence and merger partner Glencore lost 2.40 percent to 340.35 pence.
Retailer Next was also out of favour, falling 2.31 percent to 4,225 pence.
Biggest riser was miner ENRC, which jumped 4.17 percent to 245 pence, continuing a run of volatility.
London shares open lower as study slams HBOS bosses
