Monday started out as Thursday and Friday had ended last week, as the FTSE 100 index continued its slide below 4,400 and issues such as Shell's missing oil reserves drove investors to the sidelines.
However, confidence did return in drips and drabs, sending the index up on three of the five trading days this week, helping support the 4,400 level at which the index traded as of midday today. Today also saw the much-maligned insurance sector somewhat vindicated after Aviva announced its operating profit should beat expectations when it next reports major results, sending institutions everywhere scrambling to boost the weighting of insurance stocks in their portfolios. Some may even harbour hopes of a dividend payment recovery at Aviva, while others have already expresses hopes of a...
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