FTSE makes early gains

Monday 18th May 2009

The FTSE 100 climbed 4.49 points in early trading to 4,352.60 by 08:30 BST as banking stocks made gains on the index.

The UK's leading shares index beat markets in the US and in Europe, which were muted following data suggesting the European recession has worsened.

Vedanta Resources led the rise, with a 5.4 per cent rise in share price, while Cairn Energy was up by 2.78 per cent.

But it was the banking sector that stood out this morning, after Lloyds Banking announced Sir Victor Blank will step down.

The bank intends to launch a new share issue that could benefit shareholders, the Times said, boosting the bank's share price by 4.6 per cent in early trading.

Standard Chartered was also up, by 3.23 per cent, while HSBC jumped 2.63 per cent.

Mining stocks continued to suffer, with Xstrata down 4.55 per cent, Eurasian Natural Resources dropped 4.47 per cent and Rio Tinto was down by 4.43 per cent. ADNFCR-1783-ID-19173421-ADNFCR

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