Banks provide early rise for FTSE

A much-needed boost for beleaguered shares in the UK banking sector helped London's FTSE 100 Index jump by more than 2% today.

Taxpayer-backed Royal Bank of Scotland led the way with a share price rise of 9% after brokers at Deutsche Bank introduced a buy rating on the stock.

The London market, which was closed for the bank holiday yesterday, was also catching up with gains overseas after positive consumer spending data in the United States and news of a merger of two major banks in debt-laden Greece helped ease fears of a global recession.