The FTSE 100 opened higher, up 0.46% or 24.52 points to 5,337.14, on encouraging news from the oil sector.
Investors also responded positively to results of European stress testing which saw all the major banks pass. BP rose 2.68% to 409.3p on news embattled BP chief executive Tony Hayward is expected to resign tomorrow. Elsewhere in the resources sector, Tullow Oil says it has found a new oil field, causing its shares to jump 5.43% to £12.43. However, it was a mixed picture for the UK's banking stocks as Barclays increased 2.68% to 309.5p, while Standard Chartered was down 0.25% to £18.19. In Europe, banking shares drove the major indices higher. France's CAC 40 rose 0.42% to 3,622....
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