END-OF-DAY REPORT: Headline shares made strong gains in the afternoon as US employment data came in better-than-expected and cleared the spectre of a double-dip, with M&A chatter the major driver in London.
At the close of business, the FTSE100 was up 57.11 points at 5,428.15 with the FTSE250 ahead 63.14 points at 10,204.11 and the FTSE Smallcaps 4.72 points better at 2,844.72.
LONDON MARKETS
It needed better-than-expected employment data from the US to give investors in London a last boost today, although continuing M&A chatter had kept markets just on the positive side throughout the day.
Banking shares suffered mixed fortunes, with Barclays the best of them, up 13p at 325p. Standard Chartered gained 34.5p at 1,870.5p and HSBC improved 2.4p at 654.4p as investors mulled its stance of moving out of the UK if the threat to break up banks was carried through.
