nikkei 225

UK insurer Standard Life leads the gains this morning despite reporting a fall in life and pensions sales in 2009.

The FTSE fell in early trading, dragged down by negative market sentiment towards resources firms.

The FTSE 100 opened lower, down 39.78 points or 0.76% to 5220 over worries about global growth following announcements in China and the US.

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

Cadbury shares have bucked a poor start to FTSE 100 trading this morning, climbing over 3% on news it has agreed a £11.5bn takeover bid by Kraft.

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.

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

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.

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