Britain's leading share index rebounded on Tuesday after posting its biggest-ever one-day points fall in the previous session, as gains in commodity stocks offset heavy losses in the ailing banking sector. The FTSE 100 closed 16 points, or 0.4 percent, higher at 4,605.2 points in a volatile session, after swinging from a low of 4,517.5 to a high of 4,745.
-- FTSE 100 ends up 0.4 percent
-- Banks thrashed on funding concerns
-- Commodity stocks gain on firmer metal and crude prices
But UK banks, with Royal Bank of Scotland hitting a 15-year closing low, remained deeply in the red on funding concerns, though markets received a boost from the US Federal Reserve's announcement of a special-purpose facility to buy commercial paper. The UK benchmark lost 7.85 percent to hit a four-year low on Monday. The index is down 28.7 percent for the year.
Heavyweight energy stocks gained along with higher crude prices. BP, Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group soared 2.9 to 4.6 percent. Strong metal prices also lifted mining shares, with BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Anglo American, Eurasian Natural Resources , Vedanta Resources and Antofagasta rising between 1 and 11 percent. The Fed announced the creation of a special-purpose facility with the Treasury Department's blessing to begin buying commercial paper, which is widely issued to fund day-to-day business operations, as other investors have become increasingly reluctant to buy them.
Banks were the top-weighted losers on the FTSE 100, adding to Monday's heavy losses. The FTSE 350 banks index sagged 7.3 percent. "Again, it's all about the banks. It's the uncertainty created this morning with the rumour about meeting with the government ... to bail out the banks," said David Jones, chief market strategist at IG Index. "The rest of the market has found a bit of a firmer footing."
"With the Wall Street fairy stable, people may be pinning their hopes on something of a recovery. The level that people want to see broken is probably going to be probably yesterday's high of 4,800." News that Finance Minister Alistair Darling met bank officials on Monday evening sent shares in major banks sharply lower as investors feared their holdings might be diluted by a big government stake. Bank officials, however, were dismissed suggestions they had asked for money.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Darling will hold talks on the financial crisis with the governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, later on Tuesday, a spokesman said. RBS plunged 39 percent to its lowest in 15 years, Lloyds shed nearly 13 percent, Barclays sank 9.2 percent and HBOS slumped 41.5 percent to top the FTSE 100 losers' list.
HSBC, on the other hand, advanced 2.2 percent. Investors will focus on the BoE's interest rate verdict on Thursday after the Reserve Bank of Australia unexpectedly cut rates by 1 percent, fuelling speculation that the UK central bank will cut rates from the current 5 percent by as much as 50 basis points. Pharmaceuticals, which investors deem as defensive stocks, were in demand, with GlaxoSmithKline gaining 1.9 percent and Shire up 3.4 percent. Drinks groups Diageo and SABMiller were also among the top gainers, benefiting from investors' move to defensive areas. SABMiller surged 10.6 percent and Diageo gained 5.4 percent.
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