Dow Jones

In London, markets opened lower this morning as fears grew over the impact of banking regulation.

UK pharmaceuticals rose in early trading after speculation mounted President Barrack Obama's healthcare reforms could be thwarted by the Republicans.

Early gains among major miners helped boost the FTSE by 34.93 points (0.64%) to 5508.41 in early trading.

The FTSE 100 opened slightly lower this morning after falls on Wall Street and in Asia, dipping 4.76 points (0.09%) to 5,493 in early trading.

US shares fell in early trading on the back of interest rate concerns following the Chinese Central Bank's decision to increase its inter-bank rate for the first time in four months.

Miners are pulling down London's main index in early trading, offsetting strong demand for supermarket groups.

The Dow Jones opened trading in the red on the back of disappointing employment figures showing the number out of work increased to 84,000 in December.

Early gains among financials offset disappointing Marks and Spencer results to see the FTSE marginally down 0.22% to 5,510.22 in early trading.

US stocks reached 15-month highs on Monday, with both the Dow Jones and S&P 500 up at least 1.5% on the first trading day of 2010.

London trading got off to a shaky start this morning after the Fed warned of a fragile recovery in the US.