The FTSE 100 is dragging after RBS announced a £7 billion loss

The FTSE 100 is struggling to get off the ground on Friday morning, on a listless day for the index, despite a handful of firms releasing annual results earlier in the morning.

By 8.25 a.m. GMT (3.25 a.m. ET) the index has lost just 0.15%, with no individual stock moving more than 3%.

Royal Bank of Scotland is one of the big drivers on the index so far, losing close to 2% after announcing its ninth consecutive year of losses.

The bank, which is 73% state-owned, said in its full year financial results statement that it lost £6.955 billion in 2016, compared with £1,979 million in 2015.

Losses were expected, so the fall was largely priced in, as reflected by the relatively small fall in the group’s share price on Friday.

Here is the chart:

Investing.com

Writing in his daily morning email, Mike van Dulken of Accendo Markets notes: “FTSE sentiment may be impacted by RBS chalking up its ninth straight annual loss and outlook suggesting more to come (legacy clean-up, US legal settlements) before a return to profitability. This is rather at odds with peer Lloyds which continues to recover, able to offer special dividends and the government’s bailout stake sale almost complete.”

Elsewhere in Europe, sentiment is similarly subdued after a mixed day in the US markets, where the Dow Jones hit a 10th consecutive record high, while the Nasdaq dropped a little. Here is the scoreboard:

Investing.com