FTSE

European markets have broadly continued gaining on Wednesday's highs, following encouraging US earnings and the resulting strength in US markets.

European markets have opened very strongly this morning with the DJ Euro Stoxx 600 up 1% and the FTSE All-Share up 1.3%.

Friends Provident has been named the top financial services company in the FTSE First Impression Index and second in the overall ranking of all FTSE 100 companies.

Early trading saw the FTSE fall after reaching a 12-month high on Monday.

The Dow Jones raced to a near 75-point lead in early trading on Thursday thanks in part to strong gains from aluminium giant Alcoa.

The FTSE opened buoyantly, up more than 49 points to 5,158.28, on the back of strong performance from mining companies, due to higher metal prices because of the weak dollar.

Markets opened to a volatile start this morning after shares made major gains on improvements in the commodities market.

The Dow Jones has climbed sharply in early trading this morning on anticipation of a positive start to the US reporting season. At 10.40am, the index was 112.07 points (1.17%) higher to 9711.82.

The FTSE 100 is up 32.83 points(0.65%) at 5057.15 following some volatility in early trading, as Australia's decision to raise interest rates surprises the global markets.

The FT's David Stevenson urges advisers to carry out proper due diligence on the vehicles