Financials and miners lead the FTSE 100 up
The blue chip index rose in early deals this morning, following positive gains in Asia and the US as investors reacted positively to European Central Bank (ECB) plans to spend billions of euros shoring up troubled governments.
Miners Evraz and Ferrexpo led the index up, by 8.51 and 7.11 per cent respectively, as the ECB’s bond buying programme helped to underscore metal prices.
Finnish miner Talvivaara also rose by 4.15 per cent.
UK bank Barclays helped to buoy the index in early trading, up 4.12 per cent. Yesterday the City watchdog intensified pressure on the high-street bank, telling bosses they must change the culture at the bank in the wake of several scandals.
Other UK financials led the index higher. HSBC was up by 0.81 per cent, RBS was up by 3.17 per cent and Lloyds Banking Group added 3.79 per cent.
A variety of retailers and financials dragged the index down.
Home shopping group Findel, which has enjoyed continued share price rises over the past few weeks, fell by 7.27 per cent, while beleaguered retailer Mothercare fell by 3.08 per cent.
Wealth manager SVM Global led the fallers, shedding 7.66 per cent in early trading, as co-founder Donald Robertston stepped down from the firm and as manager of several of its collective investment vehicles.
Meanwhile, commodities giant Glencore fell by more than 2.5 per cent on the news that it has postponed its merger meeting with Xstrata following developments overnight.
Global stock markets rose on news of Mario Draghi’s unlimited bond buying programme. In Asia, the Nikkei rose 2.2 per cent to close at 8,871.65, marking the biggest one-day gain in five months.
Across the pond, the Dow Jones closed up 1.87 per cent at 13,292, the highest close since December 2007.