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FTSE up on banks, AstraZeneca; M&S weighs

Wed Jul 2, 2008 7:13am EDT
 
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* FTSE 100 gains 1.1 pct

* Banks charge forward as European peers ease worries

* Patent ruling gives fillip to Astra/drugmakers

By Michael Taylor

LONDON, July 2 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE extended early gains to climb 1.1 percent at midday on Wednesday, as European banks rebounded and AstraZeneca (AZN.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) buoyed drugmakers, while Marks & Spencer (MKS.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) fell.

At 1047 GMT, the UK's blue-chip index was up 61.3 points at 5,541.2 after falling 2.6 percent and touching a three-month low in the previous session.

Banks rebounded from a recent sharp sell-off as UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said they don't need to raise extra cash, calming fears that more big writedowns and slowing economies could force further capital raisings.

HSBC (HSBA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Lloyds TSB (LLOY.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) added 0.5 to 2.5 percent, while the DJ Stoxx European bank index rallied 2.1 percent.  Continued...

 

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