Land firms stem early FTSE losses

European real estate firm Hammerson leads the way, trading up 131 points, or 8.35%, at £16.99. It is closely followed by the Land Securities Group, up 74 points, or 3.74%, to £20.54, and British Land, up 41 points, or 2.78%, to £15.17. However, these gains were offset by early losses for global resource firm BHP Billiton, down 27 points, or 2.16%, to £12.22. There were losses also for Rio Tinto, down 66 points, or 1.8%, to £35.94, and Detica Group, down six points, or 1.57%, to 377p. In the US, the Dow Jones closed well up after a strong day’s trading, finishing up 53.8 points, or 0.4%,...