FTSE 100 soars on opening

Wednesday, 29 October 2008 12:00

The FTSE 100 soared over the 4,000 mark in the minutes after opening today following a global rally.

The UK index was up over five per cent in early trading, gaining 208.37 points by 08:25 GMT.

Japan's Nikkei rallied to end 7.7 per cent higher, while in New York the Dow Jones closed 889.67 points up to 9,065.44 - a rise of more than ten per cent, its second biggest one-day percentage gain.

Expectations of more interest rate cuts this week fuelled the rise. A Japanese newspaper suggested the country's central bank is preparing its first rate cut in seven years for this week, while the US Federal Reserve is also widely expected to cut rates again.

The Bank of England and the European Central Bank are expected to cut rates next week.

Financial and mining stocks helped boost the FTSE 100 this morning, with double-digit rises for some.

Insurer Old Mutual rose 23.08 per cent, while HBOS was up 15.89 per cent and broker ICAP rose 14.62 per cent.

Anglo American also benefited, up 10.78 per cent, while Xstrata rose 9.73 per cent.

By 08:50 GMT, only two stocks on the index were in the red: Friends Provident, down 8.62 per cent, and British American Tobacco, down 0.72 per cent.

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