Investors snapping up M&S shares
Investors are going shopping for Marks & Spencer shares after it reported a better-than-expected set of second-quarter results.
Shares in M&S are up 9% or 23¾p to 303¼p after the figures showed signs it may finally be turning the corner after a damaging three-year slide.
But its rise comes against the backdrop of another nervy morning on the London market, with the Footsie index of 100 leading stocks up just 11.7 points at 5044.4 after an hour's trading.
The Footsie had fallen back on opening as City traders reacted to losses on Wall Street overnight.
The gains by M&S are enough to place it on top of the Footsie 100 risers' board, where it has been joined by some of the market's biggest stocks.
Vodafone is up 3p to 163½p; Shell is up 3p to 517p; and rival BP is also up 3p to 571p.
Banks are also moving ahead, with Lloyds TSB up 6½p to 693½p; Barclays gaining 5p at £19.45; and Royal Bank of Scotland 13p ahead at £15.58.
The main downward drag is being provided by engineering group Invensys, down 10% or 5¼p at 49p. Shares in the group, which has a large exposure to the US, rose 23% yesterday after it calmed investors by confirming first-half profits would be in line with City hopes.
Airlines are holding steady, with British Airways unchanged at 162p; and easyJet climbing 6½p to 339p.
