nikkei 225

Japanese shares have clawed back some of their losses after falling more than 7% yesterday in a dramatic trading session.

The Bank of Japan's announcement of aggressive growth stimulus measures on Thursday pushed up the flagging Nikkei and caused the yen to fall sharply against the US dollar.

Asian markets tumbled overnight and safe-haven bond yields fell following news EU member Cyprus is to impose an unprecedented bank levy on deposits held in the country.

The UK's blue chip index is trading back near a five-year high this morning after a near 1% gain, as a bumper set of results lift shares.

China's stock market has rebounded slightly on Tuesday after its worst day for 18 months, as the country's parliament begins its annual session.

The FTSE 100 has started to recover during this morning's trading, after its first poor finish since the start of the year on Monday.

Asian stock markets rallied overnight as Hong Kong's Hang Seng Composite index posted its longest streak of gains in seven years.

The FTSE 100 made marginal gains this morning as investors look through a tough session on Wall Street Friday, and a mixed day in Asia, to focus on an expected improvement in economic data later this week.

Key Asian markets showed resilience from global growth fears as the main Hong Kong and Chinese stock markets rallied strongly overnight, though Japanese stocks bucked the trend.

Asian markets continued the global stock market rally, following yesterday's unveiling of the ECB's bond buying plans, with some indices up 3.8%.