Friends Prov profit fall drags on FTSE

Friends Provident fell 3.31% to 175p after it announced a 9% fall in first half underlying profit to £247m, despite strong growth at its UK arm. Legal & General declined 1.20% to 123.25p, Old Mutual dropped 1.27% to 155.50p and Prudential fell 0.80% to 556.50p. Standard Chartered fell 2.75% to 1,274p after the Asia focused bank lifted operating profit by 15% to $1.52bn for the first half, but warned trading conditions may become tighter in the months ahead. In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 43.70 points, or 0.4%, to 11,263.08 points on speculation the Federal Res...