THE FTSE 100 Index eased back by 26.8 points to close at 6023.9, despite further gains from banks and insurers in the wake of relief over a successful bond auction for under-pressure Portugal and more bond auctions in Spain and Italy.

Royal Bank of Scotland rose 1.4p to 42.6p.

Taxpayer-backed player Lloyds Banking Group added 0.8p to 68.5p. Barclays, which is believed to have a lot of exposure to the Iberian peninsula, was up 3.4p to 306p.

There was little reaction to the widely-anticipated decision by the Bank of England to leave interest rates on hold at a record low of 0.5 per cent and quantitative easing unchanged at £200bn.

Tesco was the FTSE’s biggest faller after it posted 0.6 per cent, like-for-like sales growth in the six weeks to January 8. Shares fell 18.2p to 405.6p, or four per cent, as the update appeared to reinforce recent signs that smaller rival Sainsbury’s had gained ground. Marks and Spencer and Next were enjoying gains, up 7.4p to 380p, and 41p to 2094p, respectively.

In the FTSE 250 Index, Argos-owner Home Retail Group jumped 21.1p to 227.1p after profit forecasts remained intact after the festive period.

Dixons Retail Group moved in the opposite direction, down 2.4p to 21.4p, after it said UK and Ireland like-for-like sales fell four per cent and cautioned that annual profits were expected at the bottom end of forecasts.

Halfords was another faller, down 15p to 405p, as it also said profits were likely to be at the lower end of market forecasts, because of poor sales of children’s bicycles.

Game Group jumped 16 per cent, or 9.8p to 72p, after a strong Christmas season for games releases helped improve its UK and Ireland trading, with sales down 0.5 per cent, against a 7.6 per cent drop in the previous 18 weeks.