Your account has been frozen. For your available options click the below button.

To read this article in full you must have registered and have a Premium Content Subscription with the The Scotsman site.

To read this article in full you must be registered with the site.

« Previous « Previous Next » Next » View Gallery Published Date: 24 July 2008 By Jane Bradley LONDON FTSE 100 CLOSE 5,449.9 +85.8 BOOMING financial stocks combined with takeover speculation and hopes the worst of the credit crunch may be over helped the FTSE 100 index power ahead yesterday.

With the wider market also enjoying an improvement in upbeat trading, the FTSE 100 inADVERTISEMENTdex closed up 85.8 points at 5,449.9.

Banks were the main beneficiaries thanks to rumours of possible bid interest for HBOS from Spain's BBVA.

Traders also responded favourably to comments from US lenders Washington Mutual and Wachovia that they had no need to raise fresh capital to strengthen their balance sheets, which led to early gains on Wall Street.

In London, HBOS was the blue chip index's biggest riser, soaring nearly 17 per cent, or 44p, to 305p. Rivals were not that far behind, with Royal Bank of Scotland jumping 22.25p to 221.25p and Barclays adding 37.25p to 352p. Lloyds TSB also rose, up 26.5p to 346.5p.

Other strong gains came in the transport sector after crude oil prices fell . Cruise ship giant Carnival cheered 102p to 1910p, while British Airways added 17p to 263.25p.

"A lot of the support we're seeing here is coming from across the Atlantic where earlier concerns about the sector aren't being played out quite as badly as expected, whilst bid speculation for beleaguered HBOS is pushing this stock higher too."

There was also a more hopeful mood in the retail sector, with Marks & Spencer up 11p at 269.75p and Next 52p higher at 1,064p.

Oil prices extended their retreat from record highs set earlier this month after the US government reported that petrol stocks rose more than expected and crude supplies fell less than analysts had forecast.

Crude supplies fell by 1.6 million barrels, slightly less than analysts surveyed by energy research firm Platts predicted. US Gasoline stockpiles jumped by 2.9 million barrels. Analysts had expected an increase of half a million.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery slipped $1.77 at $126.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. September Brent crude fell $2.06 to $127.49 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

BP, Royal Dutch Shell, gas producer BG Group and Tullow Oil shed 0.8 to 2 per cent.

GlaxoSmithKline was on the back foot after new chief executive Andrew Witty underwhelmed the City with half-year results and details of the strategic priorities facing the company.

Shares fell 3.5p to 1,220.5p, while rival AstraZeneca declined 9p to 2315p.

Lower commodity prices meant a number of mining stocks joined Glaxo in the red, with FTSE 100 newcomer Ferrexpo leading the way with a drop of 12.25p to 263.25p.

This website and its associated newspaper adheres to the Press Complaints Commission’s Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then contact the Editor by clicking here.

This is cache, read story here

login or register to post comments