London stocks drifted in early deals today in thin trade as most dealers sat on the sidelines ahead of the Christmas holiday. At 0920, the FTSE was down 3.8 points at 4,408.5. Insurers were mixed after Old Mutual said a profit warning from its Nedcor unit would hit its performance. Shares fell 2.5p to 91.25 while rival Aviva managed to nudge ahead 0.25p to 481.75. Overall, financials were mixed, with Abbey National unchanged at 532.5, while Alliance & Leicester moved up 2p to 881.5. HBOS rose 6p to 716. Telecoms were also weak, with Vodafone unchanged at 136 despite announcing a deal with Verizon for sending transatlantic text messages. Rival mm02 was up 0.25p at 77.25, while fixed line group BT was steady at 183. Oil stocks were up following crude's recent rally, with BP adding 0.5p to reach 452.25 and Shell rising 2.25p to 409.25. /www.fxcentre.com/