FTSE opens higher
Friday 9th January 2009, 9:08AM GMT.
The FTSE 100 recovered slightly from last night’s weak close, rising eight points to 4,513.32 in early trading.
Shares in tobacco and pharmaceutical firms, sectors popular as ‘defensive’ stocks, rose on the index, while miners continued to slide on falling metal prices.
By 08:34, British American Tobacco had climbed 2.58 per cent, followed by Barclays, up by 2.43 per cent.
Healthcare firm Smith and Nephew was also trading higher, up one per cent, while retailer Next continues to rise following its well-received sales figures release earlier this week.
British Sky Broadcasting fell furthest on the index this morning, down by 4.74 per cent, while food group Tate & Lyle fell 3.56 per cent.
Overnight, the Dow Jones fell 0.31 per cent ahead of employment data, expected later today to show job losses in 2008 were the heaviest since World War II.
Shropshire Star on Twitter
Keep updated with the latest breaking news and content on our Twitter feed.
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Shropshire Star and Express & Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
Entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases.
OUR NEW APP
Get the new Shropshire Star app
Download the Shropshire Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
shropshirestar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
