FTSE climbs as banks rise on Italian election result

The FTSE 100 continued to recover today as banks lifted the index higher on signs that some of the instability in Europe is coming to an end.

The FTSE 100 was up marginally at 6,279 points by 15:03pm, with banks across Europe climbing on the news Giorgio Napolitano had been named as President. Napolitano's election helped to quell fears over the outlook for Italy, and its bond yields also dived to a multi-month low. The news lifted shares in banks in particular, many of which have high exposure to Italian debt, helping Britain's blue-chip index to recover from last week's move lower. Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland were all among the top ten performers of the day, with their shares up 3%, 2.4% a...