Financials drive early gains in FTSE

Aviva, HSBC Holdings and alternative investments specialists Man Group were among the top five performers, up 2.42% to 347.75p, 2.64% to 552.5p and 2.85% to 244.75p, respectively. The blue-chip index opened at 4,438, up 0.8% from Tuesday, but fell back in early trading to 4,427 by around 9am. But high street retailers Next, down 2.3% to 1,442p and Marks & Spencer, down 1.91% to 282p, were the bottom-performing stocks, despite the Dow Jones closing 196 points up yesterday, on the back of strong US consumer stock performance. A US Conference Board survey reported May consumer confidence...