Dow rises as fate of General Motors hangs in the balance

The ailing car manufacturer leapt 6.09% to $1.22 just before 9:00am, as it tries to secure the fate of its domestic and overseas operations ahead of a bankruptcy filing, which could be as early as 31 May according to reports. Information Technology companies were also performing strongly, with Hewlett Packard and Microsoft Corporation among the top performing stocks. Hewlett Packard jumped 2.01% to $35.03, whilst Microsoft rose by 1.84% to $20.49. Financials were amongst the biggest losers, with the Bank of American Corporation dropping 1.65% to $10.73. Meanwhile in the UK, the FTS...