FTSE soars in early trade despite Dow slump

The FTSE 100 had a strong start to the day, up 1.15% to 5095.78, despite weaker news from the US overnight with the Dow closing below the 10,000 mark.

Winners on the UK's blue chip index this morning include hedge fund manager Man Group, despite its announcement profits slumped 27% in 2009 and it will halve its dividend for the current financial year. However, its shares rose 3.99% in early trade to 223.90p. Aviva is also up by 3.17% to 309.40p and there was a strong showing for Vedanta Resources (up 2.44% to £22.26) and BHP Billiton which rose 2.34% to £19.01. There are only two losing shares so far this morning with Ivensys down 0.8% to 271.60p and Randgold Resources falling 0.25% to £59.50. The FTSE proved resilient after a ro...