Britain's FTSE 100 stock index jumped to its highest level for over a month in early trading today, as a rally on Wall Street prompted strong gains by banks and boosted several telecoms, media and technology stocks.
By early this morning the FTSE 100 was up 16.7 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 5,169.8, to build on yesterday's 2.9 per cent jump to 5,153.1 points, its highest finish since September 6th.
The blue chip index went as high as 5,199.2 points, its highest intra-day level since September 7th, and then turned lower to trim early gains. The index is up 22 per cent from its intra-day low of 4,219.8 on September 21th.
One dealer said the overall mood of the market remained fragile but confidence that corporate earnings will recover in 2002 had outweighed expectations for weak near-term earnings.
The banking sector added 13 points to the FTSE 100's early rise, led by 2 per cent climbs by Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland.
Friends Provident jumped 6 per cent, making up ground after it missed out on Wednesday's rally when it fell 4 per cent.
Telecoms stocks added seven points to the FTSE 100.