FTSE and Dow buoyed by financials

Banking stocks JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup led the surge, gaining 8.88% and 7.73% respectively. Alcoa was the Dow's biggest loser; shedding 8.66% following news it is to cut its dividend by 82% as part of a programme to reduce costs by $2.4bn annually. General Motors was the other noticeable stock in decline, down 1.98%. In the UK, financials are also the morning's biggest winners so far - with Old Mutual, Barclays, Legal & General and RBS posting early gains of 4.96%, 3.72%, 3.70% and 3.60% respectively. The FTSE 100 was up 0.8% by 9am. IFAonline