Bargain hunters help lift FTSE
The FTSE 100 nosed up this morning as bargain hunters snapped up stocks which have been hit in recent sessions.
On Monday the blue chip index was at a six-month low but has clawed back ground since then.
Gains in Asia and on Wall Street overnight also served to lift sentiment.
Insurer Aviva was the highest climber up just over three per cent in early trading.
Hedge fund manager Man Group, which has seen its stock dive in recent months, recovered by just over two per cent.
Temporary power supplier Aggreko was given a 2.5 per cent boost while cruise ship giant Carnival was up 1.7 per cent.
Broadcaster ITV, up 1.5 per cent, was also a top five riser.
Water company United Utilities added 1.6 per cent after the previous day’s release of forecast-beating results prompted target price upgrades from Barclays and Nomura.
It was a mixed picture in the banking sector with Lloyds down 0.2 per cent, but Barclays up 0.9 per cent and RBS up 0.4 per cent.
In the Eurozone the suspension of shares in troubled Spanish lender Bankia was the main focus and cause for concern.
Mining stocks in London also saw mixed fortunes with Kazakhmys, up one per cent, one of the strongest performers.
But Xstrata, down 1.3 per cent, was the biggest faller on the index. It was followed by Glencore which was off by 0.9 per cent. The pair are currently in protracted merger negotiations.
Randgold Resources edged down by 0.5 per cent and BAE Systems 0.1 per cent.
In Asia the Nikkei and the Hang Seng both closed up 0.2 per cent.
Meanwhile in a lift for the UK retailer sector John Lewis reported a sales rise fuelled by TVs and Jubilee themed products.
John Lewis said its sales increased 11.6 per cent year-on-year to £59.7m in the week to 19 May.