FTSE 100

Financial stocks are struggling this afternoon following Bank of America's announcement it suffered a $1bn (£612m) net loss in Q3.

European markets opened in positive territory this morning with the FTSE Eurofirst 300 and the FTSE All-Share both up 0.8%.

Early trading saw the FTSE 100 fall after reaching a 12-month high on Monday.

The FTSE 100 benchmark index shot to its highest level since the day Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy last year.

Quarter three has been good for the sector. It has made strong progress, both in absolute terms and relative to the FTSE 100.

The Dow Jones benchmark index in the US looked set to cap a week of gains, moving up 25.5 points to 9,812.34.

A rise in consumer-focused shares helped to push the UK's benchmark share index ahead despite profit-taking in miners and banks.

The Dow Jones raced to a near 75-point lead in early trading on Thursday thanks in part to strong gains from aluminium giant Alcoa.

The FTSE opened buoyantly, up more than 49 points to 5,158.28, on the back of strong performance from mining companies, due to higher metal prices because of the weak dollar.

The Dow Jones has climbed sharply in early trading this morning on anticipation of a positive start to the US reporting season. At 10.40am, the index was 112.07 points (1.17%) higher to 9711.82.