Mining stocks rally lifts FTSE 100

Friday, 22 May 2009 12:00

A mining sector rally lifted the FTSE 100 in early trading by 7.52 points to 4,352.99 after yesterday's sell offs.

Kazakhmys led the blue-chip index with a 5.91 per cent rise to 681.50p, followed by Eurasian Natural Resources, which jumped by 4.57 per cent and Rio Tinto, up by 4.18 per cent.

Financial stocks also made gains in early trading, after fears over the economy sent the index plunging yesterday.

Royal Bank of Scotland was up 2.26 per cent, while Lloyds Banking Group rose 1.10 per cent.

At 08:25 BST, British Airways was in the red after posting a record loss. Shares in the airline fell 6.02 per cent.

Property group Liberty International also slipped, losing 6.14 per cent, to 336.50p.

Yesterday's outlook downgrade for the UK worried US investors, as the country has a similarly large deficit and weakened economy, sending markets lower.

The Dow Jones closed 1.5 per cent lower, while the S&P 500 was off by 1.7 per cent.

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