London close: Banks recover as Footsie gains 0.65%

19th Jul 2011 16:29

The banking sector was winning back investor confidence on Tuesday as shares sharply rebounded, lifting the top share index close to the 5,800 level.Lloyds, RBS and Barclays were in demand, following the sector sell-off yesterday on the back of concerns over the softness of last week's European banking stress tests. Lloyds was the high riser of the day, after announcing that it is aggregating the wholesale markets, treasury and trading, transaction banking and corporate banking business lines as part of its recently announced strategic review. Lloyds has added new members to the management team and said the aggregation will allow the bank to simplify wholesale banking organisational structure. Meanwhile, the European debt crisis was rolling on in the background as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged leaders to increase the size of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and recapitalise its banks, according to reports from Reuters."European banks need to be strengthened throughout the euro-zone area, with a very strong follow up to the stress tests that just came out and with a preference for private sector solutions," said Luc Everaert from the Euro Area Policies division of the IMF.Copper miners Kazakhmys, Vedanta Resources and Antofagasta were making gains, tracking copper prices higher. Copper futures risen 1.8% to $448.20 just before the close of trading. Sales and profits at Johnson Matthey both registered double-digit percentage gains in the first quarter of the platinum refiner's fiscal year. Shares rose over 4% in the afternoon. Advertising firm WPP rose after investing $3m for a minority stake in Affectiva, a technology firm that specialises in measuring the emotional responses of consumers. Real estate investment trust Land Securities dipped into the red despite saying the outlook for development in London remains attractive while even the battered retail sector has its bright spots. Bwin.party Digital Entertainment captured the position of the top riser on the FTSE 250 after the online gaming company said it had launched a number of new branded online gaming services in Italy. Exhibitions and conferences firm ITE Group fell into the red despite saying it benefited from first time contributions from new events and a softer comparator last year to boost revenues by nearly 43% in the third quarter. Not far behind was Rank Group, which gave up most of yesterday's gains. Shares of the company slipped 3.25%, while it had added 3.5% on Monday. Meanwhile, IG Group's full year results have come in a shade ahead of expectations, with the spread-betting company continuing to bag new clients in spite of tough economic conditions. BC FTSE 100 - RisersLloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 43.14p +4.34%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,016.00p +4.02%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 275.20p +3.85%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,343.00p +3.15%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,424.00p +3.11%Cairn Energy (CNE) 382.70p +3.01%Weir Group (WEIR) 2,126.00p +2.90%BT Group (BT.A) 193.00p +2.88%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 734.00p +2.87%Man Group (EMG) 237.50p +2.81%FTSE 100 - FallersAutonomy Corporation (AU.) 1,703.00p -1.56%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,575.00p -1.35%British Land Co (BLND) 598.00p -1.08%British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,745.00p -1.08%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,422.00p -0.98%SABMiller (SAB) 2,284.50p -0.91%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,323.00p -0.90%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,070.00p -0.83%Inmarsat (ISAT) 513.00p -0.77%Tesco (TSCO) 392.05p -0.75%