London shares stage recovery
London shares staged a much-needed rally today after drawing encouragement from a positive close to trading in New York last night.
The improvement saw the FTSE 100 Index add 40 points to reach 3619.1 in the first hour, with gains coming from the financial and oil sectors.
Banks suffered a bleak start to the week yesterday but recovered some ground today, with Barclays up 6.75p at 349.75p, Royal Bank of Scotland 39p stronger at 1416p and Abbey National 13.5p stronger at 426.5p.
In the energy sector, BP rose 7.25p to 386.75p in advance of its annual results later today while rival Shell rose 5p to 361.75p.
Only a handful of Footsie stocks were in negative territory in early trading and leading the way was FT owner Pearson with a fall of 13p to 512.5p.
Corporate news was thin on the ground but airports operator BAA got a modest lift – up 3p to 447.5p – after announcing a 10.7% rise in passenger numbers for January.
Outside the Footsie, Pizza Express managed a 5p gain to 308.5p despite showing the impact of tough trading conditions on its business with half-year underlying profits down 18% at £17.8 million.
