Wolfson hit by BlackBerry turmoil Political developments in Italy, and a lack of a resolution to the partial government shutdown in the US, meant it was a volatile day for the FTSE 100. The benchmark index fell as much as 1.1pc in early trade, only to claw back some ground later in the session when the Italian prime minister survived a confidence vote. Nevertheless, amid nervousness over America's second day of shutdown, London's leading index finished 22.51 points lower at 6,437.5, a 0.4pc fall. Those companies at risk of losing business from the US closure were under pressure. Among them was technology conglomerate Smiths Group, off 37p to £13.82. RBC Capital Markets analyst Andrew Carter said in a note published late on Tuesday that Smiths" medical business may be hurt by unpaid leave taken by staff at the US Health & Human Services Agency, because their absence could affect the winter flu jab programme. Weir Group, a maker of pumps used in the oil, gas and mining industry, may also be hit by disruption to the Environmental Protection Agency, Mr Carter said. Weir slid 20.2p to £23.06, accounting for the fact the company was trading ex-dividend. Meanwhile, Ben Bourne at Liberum Capital noted that the US government closure was "clearly unhelpful" for defence equipment group Chemring, which makes flares and munitions and is a short-cycle business, meaning there is a narrow time frame between orders and deliveries. Chemring closed 8.9 cheaper at 295½p. Elsewhere among the fallers, Tesco slumped as much as 4.7pc in the wake of disappointing half-year results. However, the shares staged a partial recovery to close down 1.1, or 0.3pc, at 358p, with one dealer suggesting the early drop had been overdone. Following its own second quarter update, rival J Sainsbury shed 4.9 to 385.3p. Homewares retailer Dunelm slid 46 to 880p after disclosing that trading between the end of June and September had been "volatile," hit by Britain's uncharacteristically fine weather. Domino's Pizza Group moved in the other direction and delivered a rise of 21½ to 610½p following an encouraging trading statement covering its third quarter. Similarly, Electrocomponents, which reported first-half underlying sales growth of about 1pc, advanced 3.2 to 282½p. The electronics distributor pleased by reporting a pick-up in demand towards the end of the second quarter, with 4pc sales growth recorded during September. Oil exploration group Soco International climbed 17.6 to 415.6p after test results from a well off the coast of Vietnam suggested 200m barrels of oil and gas could be present, surpassing estimates. Away from company updates, AstraZeneca slipped 21p to £31.90½ on news a court had lifted a temporary injunction that had stopped a South Korean drugmaker, Hanmi, from launching a gastric ulcer medicine in the US that would compete with the British company's Nexium treatment. Panmure Gordon expert Savvas Neophytou said the entry of Hanmi into the market would lead to pricing pressure on what is Astra's second-biggest product. Analysts drove other movements in the market. Africa-focused oil explorer Ophir Energy slid 13.1 to 318.4p after Nomura cut its rating on the company to "neutral," following a change of analyst at the broker. Barclays received a lift from Societe Generale, which recommended that clients "buy" the shares. The encouraging political developments in Italy also helped the lender, according to Investec analyst Ian Gordon, who said Barclays had the greatest exposure to the country of the UK banks. The fact that Barclays was nearing the end of its £5.8bn rights issue, the results of which are due on Friday, lent further support today, dealers added. Indeed, that fund-raising was one of the reasons for the SocGen rating upgrade, as the rights issue has led to "a significant improvement in capital." Barclays ended 2¾ higher at 272.55p. But news of a fund-raising by Hochschild Mining weighed on the precious metals producer. The mid-capper said it raised £45m from a placing priced at 155p, and Hochschild fell 19½ to the price at which the shares were sold. The miner undertook the transaction to fund a deal to take full control of its assets in Peru. Finally, Albemarle & Bond shares more than halved in value after the troubled pawnbroker said talks with its biggest investor over a rights issue had collapsed. The company is now in discussions with its banks about how to avoid breaching its debt covenants, news that sent Albemarle plummeting 41, or 59.4pc, 28p.