Positive news for Barclays helps FTSE hold steady

By 9am, Barclays rose 7.8% to 151p, Lloyds was up 7.5% to 74.2p and RBS was 1.5% higher to 27p. Shares in Barclays were boosted by reports this morning it has passed a stress test by the FSA to judge if it needs additional capital. Insurers had a less promising start to the day with Prudential and Aviva both in the list of the bottom five performing stocks. Pru's share price fell 3.46% to 335p whilst Aviva saw a slump of 1.84% to 240.50p. Man Group too took a hit, down 2.40% to 213.75p. However, the FTSE received a boost from the performance of US markets with the Dow closing up 174 p...