FTSE surges 2.6 pct as banks rally on US results

Thu Jul 17, 2008 5:08pm BST
 
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* FTSE 100 jumps 2.6 pct.

* Banks top gainers, driven by U.S. banks' results

* Oils, mining stocks rise as crude, metals rise

By Rebekah Curtis

LONDON, July 17 (Reuters) - British blue-chip shares surged 2.6 percent in a global rally on Thursday, with banks soaring as better-than-expected results from JPMorgan (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) calmed some concerns about the outlook for U.S. corporate profits.

In the financial sector Standard Chartered (STAN.L: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 9.2 percent, Barclays (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research) jumped 8.9 percent and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L: Quote, Profile, Research) added 8.8 percent.

The reassuring results from JPMorgan came a day after Wells Fargo & Co's (WFC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) results catapulted U.S. financial stocks to their biggest gains in nearly two decades.

The FTSE 100 .FTSE closed up 135.7 points at 5,286.3, bouncing back after hitting a three-year low on Wednesday. The pan-European FTSEurofirst unofficially closed up 2.7 percent.  Continued...

 
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