Vapour rises from chimneys at the Tate & Lyle Sugars refinery beyond the London City airport. In London, the biggest falling stock was Tate & Lyle, which tumbled 16% to 660 pence after the firm issued a shock profits warning.

AFP/London


European stocks were mixed yesterday as gains on Wall Street encouraged some traders to put aside disappointing results from a raft of blue-chip companies.
Frankfurt’s DAX 30 rose 0.60% to 9,596.77 points and the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.17% to 4,312.8 points.
But London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index ended the day 0.23% lower at 6,559.42 points.
The rebound from early-session lows came after the opening on Wall Street, where traders shrugged off downbeat retail and jobs data and sent indices higher amid news of a blockbuster merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable.
In midday trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.15% to 15,987.654, the broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.25% to 1,823.80, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite
Index gained 0.40% to 4,218.08.
Comcast unveiled a $45.2bn proposed acquisition of Time Warner in an all-stock deal that would combine the top two US cable TV companies.
In London, the biggest falling stock was food ingredients firm Tate & Lyle, which tumbled 16% to 660 pence after the firm issued a shock profits warning.
The group forecast flat 2014 earnings, downgrading prior guidance of profitable growth, and partly blamed weaker demand in developed markets.
Rolls-Royce stock, meanwhile, dived 13.64% to 1,045pence after the aircraft engine maker warned it would experience a “pause” in profits and revenue growth this year.
The group added in a results statement that its performance was expected to be hit by the impact of military budget cuts and the completion of major export programmes. It also posted tumbling 2013 net profits.
Lloyds Banking Group’s share price sank 2.65% to 81.32 pence, with investors uninspired by annual results.
The state-rescued bank cut net losses in 2013 and ramped up staff bonuses, but its performance was hit by a vast compensation bill for mis-selling.
Losses after tax stood at £838mn ($1.39bn, €1.01bn) last year, from £1.471bn in 2012.
Across in Paris, BNP Paribas stock slid 2.55% to €58.55 after the French bank reported that net earnings sank by more than a quarter, mostly due to exceptional items.
On the upside in Frankfurt, Commerzbank shares gained 1.53% to €13.60 after the bank announced a return to annual profits but warned the environment would remain difficult.
The European single currency climbed to $1.3667 from $1.3593 late in New York on Wednesday.
The euro firmed to 82.18 British pence from 81.91 pence, while the pound rose to $1.6631 from $1.6593.
The price of gold rose to $1,296 an ounce on the London Bullion Market, from $1,289.32 on Wednesday.