Bargain hunters believed to be behind Footsie's rise

Investors are being given some respite from the massive falls which have left the FTSE 100 Index at its lowest level for five years.

An early bounce pushed the Footsie up 61.3 points to 4453.9 by mid-morning as the market reacted to a strong finish on Wall Street last night.

But confidence is still looking fragile and the rally appears driven mainly by bargain hunters.

Banks and telecoms were making up some ground with Vodafone moving up 3¼p to 83¾p, BT gaining 4¾p at 240¾p and Cable & Wireless ahead 6½p at 163p.

Of the banks, HSBC was up 23p at 753p, Barclays rose 6p to 509p, Lloyds TSB moved ahead 10p to 615p and Royal Bank of Scotland climbed 35p to £17.20.

The ITC's decision to award its digital licences to the consortium comprising BBC and BSkyB helped the pay-TV broadcaster's shares rise 12½p to 587½p.

ITV partners Carlton and Granada missed out in the bidding but their shares were largely unaffected, up ¼p at 195¾p and half a penny at 109½p respectively.

Outside the Footsie, no-frills airline easyJet rose 16p at 313p following a broker upgrade while rival Ryanair Holdings gained 9½p at 371p in the wake of more strong passenger numbers.

Among those companies reporting today, bookie Stanley Leisure climbed 4% after posting a 43% jump in full-year profits.

The group also announced the acquisition of regional casino operator Tower Casino and moved up 15p to 358½p.