FTSE 100 jumps as banks take lead

Thursday 16th April 2009, 9:48AM BST.

FTSE 100 jumps as banks take leadThe FTSE 100 was up in early trading as banks saw gains, but an early peak slid as traders their teeth into the day.

At 8:23 BST, the index was up 10.68 points – or 0.27 per cent – to 3,979.08, after initially rising a hair’s breadth below 4,000 as hope the US recession may now be easing grew.

However, GDP data from China – showing the slowest growth rate on record for the first quarter of 2009 for the nation – kept a lid on optimism.

Lloyds Banking took the largest gains – up 5.47 per cent to 88.70p – while Barclays rose 5.06 per cent and Royal Bank of Scotland edged up 4.33 per cent to 28.90p.

Miners Fresnillo and Kazakhmys gained 3.25 per cent and 3.13 per cent respectively.

International distributor Bunzl was down 7.95 per cent – as the firm saw a fall in sales, despite revenue rising on currency shifts.

Experian fell 4.07 per cent, property group Liberty International dropped 3.01 per cent and miner Anglo American was down 2.50 per cent.

Last night in New York, the Dow Jones recorded a late rally pushing the index up 1.38 per cent to 8,029.62, while Chicago’s S&P 500 climbed 1.25 per cent.

In Asia, the Nikkei was up 0.10 per cent.



Free e-Supplements

TWITTER

Shropshire Star on Twitter Shropshire Star on Twitter

Keep updated with the latest breaking news and content on our Twitter feed.

Lifestyle

Interactive Dining Out map 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 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 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.