FTSE 100 slow gains after Monday losses

The FTSE 100 rose 0.45 per cent at 8:44 BST after yesterday's losses.

Early trading saw an initial rise, then fall before the index made up a little ground to 5504.30.

The biggest falls were seen for Marks & Spencer dropping 19.03 per cent to 257.50p on the back of poor trading figures.

UK sales at the retailer fell 5.3 per cent in the last three months and the director of the firm's food business was sacked.

Fellow retailers Next and Sainsbury were down 6.65 per cent and 5.64 per cent.

Building supplier Wolseley fell 10.13 per cent and ITV continued its fall down 7.98 per cent to 39.20p – compared to a 52-week high of 116.80p.

Meanwhile traders turned to the pharmaceutical sector for some stability, with AstraZeneca rising 6.43 per cent and GlaxoSmithKline up 2.83 per cent.

Cairn Energy rose 3.77 per cent, Vedanta Resources was up 3.02 per cent and BAE Systems rose 2.6 per cent.

Outside the FTSE 100, builders took a further beating.

Taylor Wimpey, announcing 900 job cuts today, fell 46.25 per cent, while Barratt Developments dropped 18.06 per cent.

Persimmon slipped 16.30 per cent and Bellway was down 12.94 per cent