Market opening

Jun 4 2009 By nebusiness

Strong sales figures from supermarket Morrisons helped boost retailers today as the wider FTSE 100 Index also steadied after hefty falls the previous session.

Morrisons - the UK’s fourth largest supermarket - rose 3% after revealing first quarter sales growth of 8.2% excluding VAT, with rivals Tesco and Sainsbury’s likewise benefiting from the news.

Advances among banks also helped put the Footsie on a firmer footing after yesterday’s 2% fall - up 38.5 points at 4422 in the first hour.

In economic news, key interest rate decisions in the UK and Europe will be watched closely later today, with eyes on any update from the Bank of England update on its £125 billion quantitative easing programme.

Among stocks moving higher, Morrisons moved up 6.5p to 254p after its strong first quarter update.

Sainsbury’s rose 8.25p to 325.75p and Tesco lifted 8.9p to 362.2p amid the more general retail cheer.

Financial firms fought back from recent losses, with insurer Aviva up 4% or 13p to 347.5p and Royal Bank of Scotland leading a bounce back from the banking sector, up 1.5p to 37.6p.

Elsewhere, Debenhams shares fell 2.25p to 90p after the FTSE 250 firm unveiled a £323m cash plea to investors to help pay down debts.