Dow Jones

The FTSE 100 regained some of the ground it lost today in late trading, but still closed down 0.8% lower at 5,211 points.

The FTSE 100 index of leading shares has dropped more than half a percentage point this afternoon following a shaky start in trading.

Miners and banks are driving the FTSE upwards this morning, as London's leading shares continue to rebound on the back of Wall Street's stellar showing yesterday.

The FTSE hit a new intra-day low for 2010 in early trading on Thursday following murmurs ratings agency Moody's may downgrade the triple-A sovereign ratings on Spain.

The FTSE 100 index opened slightly up this morning, in a fragile recovery from yesterday's mammoth losses which saw it hurtle south of the 5,000 mark.

The FTSE 100 fell just under the 5,000 mark in early trading, down 1.44% to 4998.5, as investors reacted to falls for global markets in the US and Asia overnight.

A fall in mining shares on the back of drops in metal prices led the FTSE down 0.8% to 5,202.85 points in early trading.

US markets opened strongly today as global stock markets thrive on news China is likely to end its currency peg with the dollar.

The FTSE 100 opened higher as investors responded positively to news BP has scrapped its dividend until 2011 and agreed to fund a $20bn oil spill compensation package.

The FTSE started the day positively buoyed by a strong start for bank stocks and increased hopes of a global recovery.