By Tricia Wright
LONDON, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index ended 1 percent higher on Friday, recouping part of the previous session's sharp losses as banks rebounded on subsiding Dubai debt fears while firmer commodity prices aided miners and oils.
The FTSE 100 closed 51.60 points higher at 5,245.73, having tumbled 3.2 percent on Thursday -- its biggest one-day percentage drop in eight months.
David Jones, chief market strategist at IG Index, said there was a general feeling that Thursday's sell-off was overdone and that some confidence was restored after U.S. stocks pared losses on Friday after hefty falls earlier in the session.
'People are still maybe a little bit twittery as volumes are quite low in the U.S. because of Thanksgiving. We may have to wait until Monday to be really sure that we're out of the woods, but it's definitely encouraging,' he said.
The banking sector rebounded after steep falls both earlier on Friday and in the previous session, as investors became less concerned about exposure to Dubai, which on Wednesday sought a debt standstill for state-owned Dubai World.
Banks outside the Gulf played down their exposure to Dubai debt after fears of default shook global markets, and European leaders said the world economy was now strong enough to cope with the setback.
Royal Bank of Scotland topped the blue-chip leader board, jumping 5.2 percent after a sharp slide on Thursday, with Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered adding 0.1 to 2.3 percent.
Lloyds Banking Group dropped 0.9 percent as the bank's shares traded ex-rights following overwhelming investor support for the bank's 13.5 billion pound cash call.
Life insurers recovered from falls on Thursday, with Prudential, Legal & General, Aviva and Resolution up 2.2 to 3.1 percent.
MINERS GAIN
Miners were the top performing sector, helped by bargain-hunters after sharp falls a day earlier, with spot gold rallying from a one-week low, copper rising 0.2 percent and aluminium gaining 0.4 percent.
Xstrata and Lonmin stood out, up 4.9 and 3.5 percent.
As crude cut earlier losses, energy stocks bounced back, with BG Group, BP and Royal Dutch Shell rising 0.9 to 1.7 percent.
Thomas Cook Group was among the top FTSE 100 risers, up 4.7 percent as investors looked ahead to the tour operator's full-year results due on Monday.
Peer TUI Travel added 2.4 percent, with its results due next Tuesday.
Heavyweight pharma stocks were firm, having been pressured earlier in the day, with Shire and GlaxoSmithKline up 2 percent and 0.6 percent respectively, though AstraZeneca was flat.
Retail issues eased, with Home Retail Group off 0.7 percent and Next down 0.8 percent as Goldman Sachs downgraded its rating of both in a major European sector review.
Electricals retailers Kesa Electricals and DSG International lost 1.3 and 1.4 percent respectively as Goldman downgraded both mid-cap stocks as well.
Luxury goods group Burberry added 1.7 percent after Goldman Sachs raised its rating to 'neutral' from 'sell'.
The FTSE 100 index has surged about 52 percent from a six-year low hit in March, though it is still 3.2 percent below its level of mid-September 2008 before the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
(Editing by John Stonestreet) Keywords: MARKETS BRITAIN STOCKS (tricia.wright1@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 8114; Reuters Messaging:tricia.wright1.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
LONDON, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index ended 1 percent higher on Friday, recouping part of the previous session's sharp losses as banks rebounded on subsiding Dubai debt fears while firmer commodity prices aided miners and oils.
The FTSE 100 closed 51.60 points higher at 5,245.73, having tumbled 3.2 percent on Thursday -- its biggest one-day percentage drop in eight months.
David Jones, chief market strategist at IG Index, said there was a general feeling that Thursday's sell-off was overdone and that some confidence was restored after U.S. stocks pared losses on Friday after hefty falls earlier in the session.
'People are still maybe a little bit twittery as volumes are quite low in the U.S. because of Thanksgiving. We may have to wait until Monday to be really sure that we're out of the woods, but it's definitely encouraging,' he said.
The banking sector rebounded after steep falls both earlier on Friday and in the previous session, as investors became less concerned about exposure to Dubai, which on Wednesday sought a debt standstill for state-owned Dubai World.
Banks outside the Gulf played down their exposure to Dubai debt after fears of default shook global markets, and European leaders said the world economy was now strong enough to cope with the setback.
Royal Bank of Scotland topped the blue-chip leader board, jumping 5.2 percent after a sharp slide on Thursday, with Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered adding 0.1 to 2.3 percent.
Lloyds Banking Group dropped 0.9 percent as the bank's shares traded ex-rights following overwhelming investor support for the bank's 13.5 billion pound cash call.
Life insurers recovered from falls on Thursday, with Prudential, Legal & General, Aviva and Resolution up 2.2 to 3.1 percent.
MINERS GAIN
Miners were the top performing sector, helped by bargain-hunters after sharp falls a day earlier, with spot gold rallying from a one-week low, copper rising 0.2 percent and aluminium gaining 0.4 percent.
Xstrata and Lonmin stood out, up 4.9 and 3.5 percent.
As crude cut earlier losses, energy stocks bounced back, with BG Group, BP and Royal Dutch Shell rising 0.9 to 1.7 percent.
Thomas Cook Group was among the top FTSE 100 risers, up 4.7 percent as investors looked ahead to the tour operator's full-year results due on Monday.
Peer TUI Travel added 2.4 percent, with its results due next Tuesday.
Heavyweight pharma stocks were firm, having been pressured earlier in the day, with Shire and GlaxoSmithKline up 2 percent and 0.6 percent respectively, though AstraZeneca was flat.
Retail issues eased, with Home Retail Group off 0.7 percent and Next down 0.8 percent as Goldman Sachs downgraded its rating of both in a major European sector review.
Electricals retailers Kesa Electricals and DSG International lost 1.3 and 1.4 percent respectively as Goldman downgraded both mid-cap stocks as well.
Luxury goods group Burberry added 1.7 percent after Goldman Sachs raised its rating to 'neutral' from 'sell'.
The FTSE 100 index has surged about 52 percent from a six-year low hit in March, though it is still 3.2 percent below its level of mid-September 2008 before the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
(Editing by John Stonestreet) Keywords: MARKETS BRITAIN STOCKS (tricia.wright1@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 8114; Reuters Messaging:tricia.wright1.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.