Banks bounced back yesterday to lift the markets as the FTSE 100 index rose 0.8% to close at 5,244.
Lloyds was the highest climber ahead of the deadline for its £13.5bn rights issue, rising 6.5%. Barclays added 4.6%, RBS was 3.6% higher and HSBC was up 2%.
Miners featured heavily at the bottom of the index, with Xstrata losing 2.1% and Rio Tinto falling 1.4%; but Kazakhmys bucked the trend to register a gain of 0.2%
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Energy stocks were down as oil prices remained depressed. BP and Royal Dutch Shell both lost 0.5%, and Tullow Oil fell 1.6%.
Read the latest stock market news and charts here.
Europe
In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 rose 41 points to 3,798; and the German Xetra Dax was 61 points higher at 5,709.
US
In the US, stocks ended up. The Dow Jones rose 0.7% to 10,405; the S&P 500 added 0.6% to 1,102; and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.3% to 2,190.
Asia
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 2.5% to 10,107; and the broader Topix index climbed 1.7% to close at 873. In China, the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.2% to 3,247; and the CSI 300 lost 0.06% to 3,575.
Commodities
Brent spot was trading at $71.84 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $70.94. Spot gold was trading at $1,138 an ounce, silver was at $17.51 and platinum was at $1,429
Currencies
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.6306 and against the euro at 1.106. The dollar was trading at 0.6786 against the euro and 88.83 against the Japanese yen.
UK news
And today, there is more bad news for bankers as France says it is to follow the UK's lead on taxing bonuses. Payments over €27,000 will attract tax at 50%. Gordon Brown said: "I think the French agreement to support what we are doing on one-off bonuses is very important." Germany's Chancellor, Angela Merkel, fell short of saying that she would follow suit, but called the proposal a "charming" idea.
-
What happens if you can’t pay your tax bill, and what is "Time to Pay"?Millions are due to file their tax return this Friday as the self-assessment deadline closes. Though the nightmare is not over until you pay the taxman what you owe - or face a penalty. But what happens if you can't afford to pay HMRC your tax bill, and what is "Time to Pay"?
-
What does Rachel Reeves’s plan for growth mean for UK investors?Rachel Reeves says she is going “further and faster” to kickstart the UK economy, but investors are unlikely to be persuaded
