Shares opened lower in London on Monday in light trading.

Falls in the Far Eastern markets overnight, and the expectation of a lower opening on Wall Street, affected sentiment.

At 1415GMT the FTSE 100 index of leading shares was down 28 points at 5815. after drifting both higher and lower during the morning session.

Banking shares were weaker, with HSBC and Standard and Chartered both falling after profit-taking in Hong Kong.

Shares in Rugby, which makes building materials, suffered a big fall after the company issued a profits warning and said job losses were likely.

The shares were down 7.5p, or 10% to 81p.

And shares in Critchley, the electrical equipment group, were off 6% as it reported a fall in pre-tax profits.

But shares in Imperial Tobacco were boosted by their better-than-expected results and an increased dividend.

Further merger talk lifted shares in Barclays and EMI.