Dow Jones

The Dow Jones held its level in early trading today, despite worrying results from Morgan Stanley.

The FTSE 100 fell on opening this morning, for the first time in seven days, after the Dow Jones temporarily faltered yesterday.

The Dow Jones was up 50.03 points (0.57%) at 8898.18 this afternoon, following a volatile start to trading as US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke forecast unemployment would remain high into 2011.

The FTSE 100 extended its rally this morning and is set to mark six consecutive sessions of gains.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones followed gains in stock markets across Europe.

In London, markets experienced strong, early growth, with banks and miners leading the pack. The FTSE 100 added 40.81 points (0.93%) to 4,429.56 by mid-morning.

Cheery results for a trio of US bluechip giants kept the Dow Jones in with a shout of posting positive gains for a fifth straight day on Friday.

The FTSE 100 was up in early trading Friday following an overnight rally in New York.

The Dow Jones slipped in early trading on Thursday after posting some of the biggest gains of the year just 24 hours earlier.

The FTSE 100 followed up yesterday's gains this morning, as mining stocks continued their rally.