Afternoon Markets: US shares rise on signs recession is easing

US shares gained as investors took heart from better-than-expected US GDP numbers showing the pace of economic decline is slowing.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 22 points to 9,176.53 after the Commerce Department said the US economy had contracted 1% between April and June, less than the 1.5% predicted. Insurance firm Travellers Company was one beneficiary, up 2.5%, despite yesterday posting a 21% drop in net income to $740m for its second quarter. The biggest loser was Walt Disney, down 3.8%. It reported that quarterly net income had dropped by a fifth after the markets closed on Thursday. Meanwhile, in London, the FTSE was pulled lower as insurance firms fell out of favour ahead of first-half earnin...