Footsie unruffled by interest rate decision

The Footsie index of 100 leading stocks is up 22.8 points at lunchtime after the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee's decided to keep the cost of borrowing at 5.75%.

The decision on interest rates had been widely anticipated in City circles and it has not had a significant effect on the Footsie, which now stands at 6024.6 after a confident opening to the session by telecom stocks.