Northern Rock recovery lifts FTSE

Northern Rock shares were up 25 points, or 14.49%, to 197.5p, followed by Severn Trent, which added 43 points, or 3%, to £14.76. Alliance & Leicester gained 19.5 points, or 2.52%, to 792.5p, Vedanta added 40 points, or 1.92%, to £21.26, while Friends Provident climbed 2.9 points, or 1.67%, to 176.6p. Wolseley shares fell 35 points, or 4.01%, to 838.5p, Persimmon lost 22 points, or 2.12%, to £10.18 and Barratt Developments dropped 11 points, or 1.46%, to 744.5p. On Wall Street, markets closed down after a calm day of trading caused by the Columbus Day holiday and the Dow Jones was down ...