Market opening

Nov 21 2008 By Karen Dent

The London market pulled out of its tailspin today after an improved session for mining and banking stocks.

There had been fears of another slump for the FTSE 100 Index after the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed more than 5% lower on global recession and deflation fears.

The Footise closed down 130 points on Thursday but was up 24.1 points at 3899.1 during the first hour of trading today.

Banks spent a rare session away from the fallers board after Royal Bank of Scotland’s recapitalisation scheme received the backing of shareholders.

RBS was 2.1p higher at 48.1p, while Barclays added 2% or 3.3p to 131p after the heavyweight stock slumped to its lowest level since 1994 earlier this week.

Other risers included Xstrata, which added 60p to 685p, and Vedanta Resources, ahead 27p at 414.75p. Among the insurers, Friends Provident rose 5.9p to 76.5p.

One of the biggest gains outside the top flight came from Currys owner DSG International after a report said the government was considering measures to help companies affected by the withdrawal of credit insurance.

DSG shares have been shaken by the issue, but were ahead 17% or 2p at 12.75p today.