FTSE 100 rallies 2.26%
Monday 18th May 2009, 5:28PM BST.
The FTSE 100 rallied after a slow start, rising 2.26 per cent to 4,446.45 as commodities recovered and the financial sector surged ahead.
A strong start in trading on Wall Street helped buoy the index, while small shareholders responded positively to Lloyds Banking Group’s decision to compensate investors following its forthcoming rights issue and the announcement chairman Sir Victor Blank is to step down.
Lloyds Banking shares led the rise, up 9.87 per cent, while Standard Chartered was close behind with a 8.51 per cent rise on the index.
Commodities were also trading higher on stronger oil prices, with Cairn Energy up 5.05 per cent and Royal Dutch Shell was up 2.19 per cent.
Anthony Grech, market strategist for IG Index, said: “This bounce back has reclaimed most of the losses from the past week but many traders still feel that the best is behind the banking recovery, for the short term at least, and are sceptical about how much upside is left after today’s move.
“For the wider market, today’s rally has reclaimed a large chunk of the ground given back towards the end of last week, but again many seem to be resigning themselves to sideways trading sessions over the next few weeks.”
In the US, the Dow Jones opened two points higher and quickly gained 1.79 per cent from the previous close in early trading, while the S&P 500 rose 1.75 per cent during the morning.
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