Afternoon Markets: Oil and mining firms keep FTSE afloat

This morning's inauspicious FTSE 100 opening was overturned throughout the day as strong retail sales...

This morning’s inauspicious FTSE 100 opening was overturned throughout the day as strong retail sales figures and oil and miner gains pushed the index back into the black. The UK benchmark dropped by nearly one per cent in early trading as concerns sparked by bad news from Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac triggered sales of bank stocks. Travel groups were also hit as the recovering oil price caused fuel-cost fears. Recent rises in the prices of commodities like oil exacerbated the problems for banks but saw miners and oil outfits rise in early trading. But the retail sales figures have soot...