Dow Jones

Substantial profit gains for Royal Bank of Scotland and mining group BHP Billiton have lifted the FTSE 100 this morning closer towards the 4500 mark.

Trading on the London indices is relatively mixed this morning, after Kingfisher started with gains and AstraZeneca began with losses.

The FTSE 100 index has finally managed to pull itself back over the 4400 mark, thanks to improved trading for the mobile phone operators.

The benchmark FTSE 100 is currently up almost 29 points at 4,406.6, after UK stocks rose for the first day in four paced by Vodafone and MMO2.

Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline was the key driver behind the FTSE 100's fall today, after the drugs giant finally saw a drop in sales.

The FTSE 100 index is currently down around 27 points to 4,407 after UK stocks fell for the first day in three paced by BP.

Rumours of a potential takeover bid for Friends Provident has lifted the FTSE 100 index this morning.

The FTSE 100 has managed to the close the week up and over the 4400 barrier, after Aviva reported full-year profits are likely to be higher than previous predictions.

The Bank of England today announced another hike in interest rates on concerns UK's strengthened economy could trigger inflation.

Lowers profits for Shell's parent group have upset trading on the FTSE 100 this morning, and kept the UK's main index under the 4400 barrier.