FTSE 100 rallies to end higher

Thursday, 19 February 2009 12:00

The FTSE 100 broke a four-day losing streak by closing 11.54 points up at 4,018.37.

Although the index dipped as low as 3,938.12 earlier today, the index has resisted closing below the 4,000 mark so far this week.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group led the rise, with a 20.44 per cent gain to 21.8p over the day.

Lloyds Banking Group followed with an 11.81 per cent rise to 56.8p, while Barclays jumped 8.36 per cent.

Investors are still wary about insurers however, and Old Mutual fell 13.29 per cent, while Legal & General was trading 9.75 per cent lower.

In the US, there was little change in the Dow Jones on opening, as better than expected results from Nestle offset data pointing to further job market weakness. The index opened at 7,555.23, after closing at 7,555.63 yesterday.

Ryan Kneale, market analyst at BetsForTraders.com, said: "The markets are on standby at the moment and we are seeing very little directional movement in the major indices.

"Traders are being forced into playing the waiting game, with no one wanting to be caught out when the next big news item rocks the boat. Whether it is good or bad news that's reported next will have a significant bearing on future market direction."

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