FTSE 100 OPEN: Banks on the rise as China promises more support
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The top five blue chip risers were dominated by UK banks in early trading, as news emerged that China was prepared to help Europe through the sovereign debt crisis.
Reports that China central banker Zhou Xiaochuan was prepared to increase its euro holdings and take part in the European Financial Stability Facility helped boost markets.
However, the biggest riser early on (at 0803 GMT) was Essar Energy, up 3% to 130.8p. The banks were led by Barclays, up 2% to 239.5p, HSBC climbed 1.9% higher to 572p, while Royal Bank of Scotland Group increased by 1.8% to 27.12p.
Vedanta Resources completed the top five risers, increasing by 1.8% to 1,279p, after subsidiary Sterlite was awarded $82.8m by the Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of Texas.
The biggest faller was drugmaker AstraZeneca (at 0804 GMT), down 3.5% to 2,913p on its ex-dividend day. Peer GlaxoSmithKline also saw its share price slip early on, down 1.1% to 1,424p.
BP dropped 1% to 490p, while fellow oil company Royal Dutch Shell saw both its share classes fall, with its ‘B’ share class slipping by 0.9% to 2,341p, and its ‘A’ share class dropping 0.8% to 2,312.5p.
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