Dow Jones

After another tough week in the UK stockmarkets, the FTSE 100 index closed almost flat on Friday.

In the UK, the FTSE has started positively this morning adding 8.1 points to 4759 points, recording a gains for a third straight day.

The FTSE 100 index added 15.50 points to 4,751.20 at its close today, led by water companies following a decision by regulator Ofwat to grant higher than expected price increases.

UK stocks are treading cautiously this morning on the news that the price of crude oil dropped 7.4% yesterday.

The FTSE 100 index finally closed up again after a bad start to the day, thanks largely to news of Bradford & Bingley's financial report, but the dollar hit a 12-year high against sterling at the same time.

In the UK, the FTSE 100 Index has recovered from losses made over the past two days, and is this morning led by GlaxoSmithKline.

The FTSE 100 index struggled to regain any confidence in Tuesday's trading after Compass and Rentokil both reported slower profit growth.

In the UK, the FTSE 100 index has lost ground this morning, dropping 12.5 points to 4737.3.

Share trading has started well in the UK this morning, as the FTSE 100 Index had added 43.2 points to about 4784.7 after a slight recovery by the US dollar.

The FTSE 100 has made a recovery from yesterday's losses with the UK benchmark index trading about 13 points higher at 4,731.