The FTSE 100 closed 93.2 points up at 4189.6, held higher by a positive open on Wall Street. 
Banks helped push the FTSE 100 index firmly into the black yesterday as airlines hit by swine flu fears regained some of their losses. Part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group drew positive comments from HSBC brokers, [...]

The FTSE closed down 70 points yesterday at 4,096. During the first hour of trading yesterday the index lost more than 55 points before ranging sideways for the rest of the morning and into the early afternoon. A good rally started in the early afternoon before falling again to close just below the big number [...]

In FTSE news, London trading stocks traded mixed after Spain reported its first case of swine flu virus. Traders worried that if the spread of the influenza is not checked soon, the global trade and economies around world may shrink. The FTSE, writes Greg Secker, 100 index closed up 11.02 or 0.27% to 4,167.01 with [...]

The FTSE 100 closed up 127 points on Friday after a rally on Wall Street.  The index pushed significantly higher than Thursday’s highs as the banking sector did well.  Barclays was up 4.5 per cent, Lloyds was up 3.9 percent and HSBC went up 2.1 per cent.  The index eventually closed at 4155, giving strong [...]

The FTSE 100 was up five points in early trading to 4,035.79 by 09:00 GMT as investors digested yesterday’s Budget. Retail stocks led the rally, with Next up 8.01 per cent and Marks & Spencer up 6.61 per cent. Fund management Schroders saw a fall of 3.24, after reporting a 54 per cent fall in [...]

The FTSE 100 responded uneasily to the Budget, rising 43 points back over the 4,000 mark. The UK’s top share index dropped immediately after the Budget, which contained some gloomy predictions for the economy.  But the market rallied by the end of the afternoon, closing 1.08 per cent up at 4,030.66, the FTSE 100 was [...]

The FTSE pushed down during the day yesterday but ended the session near enough where it opened. Closing down 3.4 points at 3987, it seems the index is awaiting the budget announcement due at 12.30 today. Lloyds, RBS and Aviva where among the indexes worst performers for the day all losing between 6 and 9 [...]

The FTSE closed down 102 points yesterday as the bad news regarding the Bank of America caused a large amount of selling worldwide. The 50ema provided support and the closed was 10 points under the significant number of 4,000. Today there are fresh concerns about the banking sector, and currently there are a large amount [...]

The FTSE 100 broke it’s long term trend line closing up on Friday at 4092, and could be heading for a test of 4300.  The move up was ignited by the banks as Citigroup announced positive earnings.  Among the biggest gainers were Lloyds rising 16.6% followed by RBS rising 14.3%. Wall Street found enough in [...]

The FTSE 100 enjoyed a strong day, boosted by good performances in the industrial metals and life insurance sectors. The blue chip index was up 84 points to 4052, with insurer Prudential climbing over 8% to 394.12p to stand at the top of the winners’ board. Bank were also strong with banks Barclays and Lloyds [...]