Budget 2010: Markets and sterling hold firm after Budget

Today's Budget announcement had a muted effect on UK-listed shares and the pound with many of Chancellor Darling's proposals already expected by the market.

The FTSE 100 rose modestly by 11.1 points to 5675.36 by 3pm, despite Alistair Darling saying he had been forced to revise his economic forecast for UK growth slightly downwards. Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group did not give up much of their earlier gains today as Darling announced they will be forced to lend £94bn more to small and mid-sized businesses. RBS was the top riser amongst FTSE 100 stocks today, up 2.2% at 45.02p, while Lloyds increased 1.8% to 64.1p. Meanwhile, sterling has declined slightly following the Budget announcement but there was no significant dr...