The FTSE 100 index edged higher in early trading following gains in the US last night.
The blue chip index was up 0.21% at 5,808 at 08:45am, with better than expected results from consumer-facing stocks helping to buoy the market. Among the winners was Kingfisher, up 4.59%, followed by Next, up 4.02%, and Marks and Spencer Group, up 1.51%. On the downside Imperial Tobacco was the biggest laggard, dropping 2.39%. United Utilities Group followed, down 1.12%, BT Group dropped 0.89%, ARM Holdings was down 0.86% and Autonomy Corporation lost 0.86%. The gains in the UK followed a recovery on Wall Street where the Dow bounced back from early losses to end the day up 0.6%...
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