Earnings fail to lift FTSE after Fed move Earnings news set the pace on Europe's equity markets after a flurry of updates across the region as its main indices drifted lower overall. In London, pay-TV broadcaster BSkyB was among the top performing stocks on the FTSE 100 after it reported an 8 per cent rise in half-year revenues. Its shares climbed 2 per cent to 862p. Diageo, the premium drinks distiller, stood at the other end of London's main index, down 4.9 per cent at £18.17 after it posted significantly lower than expected net sales growth for the six months ended in December. Royal Dutch Shell gained 1.7 per cent to £22.80 after its new chief executive, Ben van Beurden, announced plans to overhaul its strategy including abandoning its costly Alaskan exploration project. The changes come after it issued its first profit warning in 10 years earlier this month. The FTSE 100 started the session down 0.4 per cent at 6,516.47, while the pan-European FTSE Eurofirst 300 slipped 0.5 per cent to 1,283.98. Hennes & Mauritz, the Swedish fashion brand, was down 3.1 per cent at SKr278.3 after its fourth-quarter profits disappointed. Overall sentiment on global markets is cautious after economic data in China showed its manufacturing sector contracted for the first time in six months and following confirmation that the Federal Reserve has again trimmed its stimulus measures.