FTSE registers big gain
London's blue chip share index rallied more than 2% ahead today, with banks leading the charge after UK savers saw the deposit guarantee upped to £50,000 (€64,218).
Hopes that the US House of Representatives would give America's 700bn (€505.5bn) bank bail-out the final thumbs up tonight added to the positive sentiment for Britain's banking sector.
The FTSE 100 Index soared 109.9 points to close at 4980.3, mirroring a similar early trade rise on the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wall Street.
Lloyds TSB and its merger partner HBOS enjoyed a further session of double digit percentage gains, ahead 11% and 18% respectively.
Retailers including Tesco and Marks & Spencer were also in better shape, with hopes of an interest rate cut fuelling momentum in the sector.
But it was the banks that dominated the risers board after the Financial Services Authority said it was upping the savings guarantee limit from £35,000 (€44,952) to £50,000 (€64,218) from Tuesday next week. The British government had already signalled the increase was likely, but its timing was unexpected.
Lloyds rose 28.25p to 290.25p, while HBOS secured its place at the head of the risers board, up 30.4p at 200.5p. Barclays meanwhile added 30p to 368p and Royal Bank of Scotland lifted 10p to 186.2p, or 6%.
Marks & Spencer was also enjoying a second strong session after yesterday's better-than-expected trading update. The improvement of 12.25p to 239.5p came despite rival John Lewis reporting an 8.3% drop in department store sales for last week.
With more gloomy data about the service sector sparking hopes for an interest rate cut next week, Tesco's shares rose 22.4p to 415.7p, and Morrisons lifted 13.75p to 269p.
But Blacks Leisure added to the retail gloom by warning that half-year losses were expected to widen to around £4.5m (€5.7m). It blamed a poor summer for its boardwear business, causing shares to fall more than 13% or 12p to 77.5p.
Sports Direct International, which owns 29% of Blacks, fell 0.75p to 51p, a decline of 1%.
Meanwhile, shares in pubs chain Mitchells & Butlers remained under pressure in the wake of several gloomy outlooks for the trade. Shares were down 13.75p to 210.25p - a fall of 6%. Enterprise Inns also succumbed to the sector nerves, losing 10p to 169p.
With oil holding steady at US$94 a barrel, British Airways was the Footsie's biggest faller, down 12.7p to 165.4p.
The 7% fall also came as its September traffic update revealed that long haul premium figures had worsened and that there was now some risk surrounding its full-year revenue forecasts.
Oil prospectors like Cairn Energy were also on weaker ground, with the firm slipping 36p to 1854p.
It was a different story for mining stocks, which were enjoying a rare surge. Vedanta Resources was the lead advancer in the sector, rising by 12% - 107p to 1019p.
The biggest Footsie risers were HBOS up 30.4p at 200.5p, Vedanta Resources ahead 107p at 1019p, Eurasian Natural Resources up by 56.5p at 555p and Lloyds TSB up 28.25p at 290.25p.
The biggest Footsie fallers were British Airways down 12.7p at 165.4p, Inmarsat off 25.75p at 443.75p, International Power down 16.25p at 334p and Fresnillo down 12.5p at 280.75p.
