//
According to Reuters, weaker commodity stocks were the reason for the slight decline but the FTSE 100 still holds a near four-month high.
This morning it was down 3.29 points at 5,490.87, after yesterday's highest close since the end of April.
On a positive note, there were rises for Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland - up 1.4 and 1.6 per cent respectively - but analysts have doubts about whether this will inspire much confidence in the industry.
Jeremy Batstone-Carr, head of research at Charles Stanley, questioned what a capitalised bank hoping to raise more funds means for the validity of the European stress tests and the strength of the European banking system.
But yesterday the FTSE 100 increased by 0.9 per cent at 5,476.74 with a 47-point rise after help from "bullish comments" on the European recovery, the news provider noted.
Posted by Greg Secker








