TELECOMS group BT turned up the heat on rival BSkyB yesterday after unveiling free Premier League football for broadband customers in a move that sent the satellite broadcaster’s shares slumping into the red.

BT’s aggressive pricing, detailed at the launch of its new sports channels, spooked investors in BSkyB, whose shares closed six per cent, or 53p, lower at 809p amid fears of a major threat to its longrunning dominance.

The FTSE 100 Index built further on recent highs as it edged 9.3 points ahead to 6592.7 – a level not seen since November 2007.

Global markets were mixed after an interest rate cut in South Korea was offset by figures showing a slight rise in inflation in China.

Wall Street’s Dow Jones Industrial Average struggled to make headway in early trading, despite another better-than-expected reading on the US jobs market.

The Bank of England’s decision to keep interest rates at 0.5 per cent and maintain its quantitative easing programme at £375bn came as little surprise.

Sterling was largely flat in the wake of the announcement, with the pound marginally lower at 1.55 US dollars while it saw a slight gain to 1.18 euros.

Supermarket Morrisons was another big faller in the FTSE 100 after new figures added to City frustrations over its recent performance.

The stock slipped three per cent, or 8p to 288.4p, as the Bradford-based chain also kept investors waiting for an anticipated internet distribution deal involving Ocado. It reported a decline in like-for-like sales of 1.8 per cent, compared with a fall of 4.1 per cent in the previous quarter.

Ocado shares were also 1.4p lower at 208.6p due to increasing doubts over the outcome of the talks with Morrisons about a future distribution deal.