Costa dominates struggling FTSE

Costa coffee owner Whitbread has stormed up the blue chip index as it revealed another strong performance at the coffee chain.

Shares in Whitbread were near the top of the risers board on a FTSE 100 Index which struggled to make progress, up 3.3 points at 5924 amid frustration at the pace of negotiations on the looming US fiscal cliff.

However, Wall Street's Dow Jones Industrial Average opened higher amid optimism the US Federal Reserve will announce further asset purchases to stimulate growth on Wednesday.

The pound was down against the Euro at 1.24 after a survey on German investor sentiment revealed a surprise gain in November. The pound was up against the dollar at 1.61.

Shares in Whitbread rose 60p to 2488p amid speculation that the recent furore over the tax arrangements of rivals Starbucks and Caffe Nero has helped business.

The group said Costa's like-for-like sales improved 7.1% in the 13 weeks to November 29, while its Premier Inn division reported a 2.5% rise in like-for-like sales.

Tullow Oil was the biggest top flight faller after it revealed disappointing results from exploration wells in Ghana and Guyana.

The blue-chip firm also said it would pay 372.3 million US dollars (£232 million) for Oslo-based Spring Energy, which has 28 offshore licences across the North, Norwegian and Barents Seas.

And with Tullow planning to dispose of production assets in the UK and Dutch southern North Sea gas basin, shares fell 8% or 106p to 1150p.

Rolls-Royce continued to come under pressure amid the bribery claims relating to contracts in Indonesia. The engines giant disclosed last week that it was in talks with the Serious Fraud Office in relation to concerns about bribery and corruption in Asia. Shares fell another 2.3%, off 20.5p to 871p.