Monday morning market opening

Dec 21 2009 By nebusiness

THE London market started the shortened trading week on the front foot today as banks showed signs of shaking off fears over new capital requirements.

The sector suffered heavy falls last week after regulators in Basel signalled that extra capital should be put aside to prevent another financial crisis.

Barclays steadied today with a gain of 2% or 6p to 270.25p, while Lloyds Banking Group was ahead 0.8p at 49.5p as the FTSE 100 Index climbed 34.3 points to 5231.1 in the first hour of trading.

Asian markets were mixed, but Tokyo’s Nikkei got a boost after Japan’s exports posted their smallest fall in 14 months with the help of robust regional demand. The news raised hopes a turnaround in Japan’s export sector, the engine of the country’s economy, is sustainable.

In London, Cairn Energy topped the risers board after it said it had secured a drilling ship to start on its exploration activities in Greenland. Shares were 81p higher at 3127p.

However, temporary power specialist Aggreko made a disappointing start to life as a top flight stock. Shares were 10.5p lower at 889.5p following its promotion from the FTSE 250 Index.