Tesco tops FTSE as index falls back again

Shares in Tesco topped the FTSE 100 leaderboard in morning trading, providing some relief for investors as the wider market slipped back once again.

Tesco was boosted as investors took heart from weekend reports the supermarket's investigation into its profit overstatement may turn out to be less bad than first feared. Shares rose 2.4% to 178.8p, having more than halved from their peak of 370p a year ago, ahead of its interim results due this Thursday. Tesco was one of the few winners across the blue chip index, with the FTSE 100 off 0.9% at 6,252 by 11:20am. That follows a volatile last five days of trading, with a rally on Friday leaving the index roughly flat for the week despite a tumultuous session on Wednesday. The index ...