nikkei 225

The FTSE took its early lead from strong gains in Asia rather than muted US markets, up by 0.5% to 5,723.51.

The FTSE 100 opened positively in a week set to be dominated by a slew of US economic and political news.

The FTSE 100 rose 0.9% to 5,791.10 in early morning trading as a weaker US dollar provided support for mining stocks.

The FTSE 100 rose 0.5% to 5,757.22 in early trading, despite negative company announcements across various sectors.

A $3.7bn acquisition by consumer products giant Unilever led European markets higher in early Monday trade, the FTSE 100 adding 0.2%.

The FTSE 100 failed to respond to broker upgrades and healthy earnings reports in early trading, advancing only six points, or 0.1%, to 5,562.37 points.

The FTSE 100 rose 0.88% or 48.58 points to 5,550.22 boosted by new financials regulation and positive economic data from China.

The FTSE 100 has fallen 0.3% or 16 points to 5,413.5 in early trading after America's Federal Reserve said overnight there were "widespread signs of deceleration" in the US economy.

The FTSE 100 fell 0.85% or 46.36 points to 5,392.83 this morning with Barclays among the biggest losers.

The FTSE 100 opened higher, up 0.47% or 25.67 points to 5,453.82, in response to Friday's better than expected US jobs data.