FTSE up almost 1.5%

Lloyds Banking Group missed out on a rally for the wider London market today after the part-nationalised bank posted a £6.3bn (€7.05bn) annual loss.

Shares in the bank - 41% owned by the taxpayer - slid more than 4% or 2.4p to 52.5p after it racked up a staggering £24bn (€26.8bn) in bad debts, mainly stemming from rescued bank HBOS.

Lloyds was the leading faller in the FTSE 100 Index, which finished 76.3 points or 1.4% higher at 5354.5 after solid economic data on both sides of the Atlantic shored up investor confidence.

UK output figures showed better than expected 0.3% growth during the final quarter of 2009, while the US government said GDP grew at an annual pace of 5.9%, above the previous estimate of 5.7%.

But US stocks were mixed after insurer AIG reported a larger than expected fourth-quarter loss, while there was more disappointing data from the US housing market for January.

The pound continued to struggle against the dollar despite the GDP figures, as concerns over the poor state of the public finances and the prospect of a hung parliament overrode any relief at the stronger than expected growth.

Firmer metal prices meant miners were well represented among the Footsie risers, with Vedanta Resources up 84p to 2548p, and Anglo American 83.5 points ahead at 2390p.

Outsourcing firm Serco led the way after full-year profits rose 30% and it increased its dividend by a quarter. Shares responded with a 6% rise, up 32p to 553.5p.

Insurance firm Aviva followed close behind with a 17.3p gain to 390.3p despite ING brokers cutting their target price on the firm ahead of next week's results. ING expects a dividend cut and said the group faced increasing challenges in its core business.

Lloyds topped the fallers' board although analysts said there were some encouraging signs after the trend for bad debts improved in the second half of the year.

Royal Bank of Scotland also dropped 0.7p to 37.7p or 2% following its own results yesterday, where a lower than expected annual loss triggered a 6% share rise.

Telecoms firms were meanwhile having a tricky session, with Vodafone off 0.9p to 141.4p, BT down 2.6p to 114.9p and Cable & Wireless off 0.5p at 136.4p.

Property website Rightmove was the biggest FTSE 250 riser, powering ahead 37p to 635p or 6% as brokers reviewed their forecasts following yesterday's better than expected results.

It was followed higher in the second tier by Misys, which provides IT services to the banking industry. Morgan Stanley lifted its target price on the stock, helping shares up 6% or 13p to 227.8p.

The biggest Footsie risers were Serco up 32p at 553.5p, Aviva ahead 17.3p at 390.3p, Old Mutual up 4.1p at 113.4p and Rolls-Royce up 19.5p at 558p.

The biggest Footsie fallers were Lloyds down 2.4p at 52.5p, BT off 2.6p at 114.9p, RBS down 0.7p at 37.7p and British Land down 4.6p at 440p.