Big firms recover some poise

BRITAIN'S biggest companies recovered some of their poise yesterday as the FTSE 100 Index ended another roller-coaster week on the front foot.

Gains by heavyweight pharmaceutical stocks and a return to form by oil giant Shell made up for heavy losses in the beleaguered banking sector.

Investors even seemed to shrug off further doubts about the US economy after poor jobs data fuelled fears about the timing of the country’s recovery.