Global stock markets rally on improved Bear Stearns offer
Tuesday, 25 Mar 2008 17:26
Global markets improved this morning
World stock markets rallied today following recent falls after US bank JP Morgan Chase said it would raise its offer for troubled lender Bear Stearns.
The FTSE 100 climbed 193 points, or 3.53 per cent by 17:00 with banking groups leading the way.
HBOS, which last week saw its stock plunge on liquidity fears – which sparked an investigation into malicious rumour spreading by traders seeking to profit from share falls – saw its value shoot up this morning.
The UK's biggest mortgage lender experienced a 14.93 per cent jump in its share price on the FTSE by 17:00, to £5.44 a share, a 70.75 point increase from last night.
Barclays rose 6.99 per cent to £4.59 a share, Royal Bank of Scotland was up 9.34 per cent to £3.51, Alliance & Leicester was up 2.14 per cent to £5.49 per share and Lloyds TSB rose 6.34 per cent to £4.61.
In other markets, the Euronext 100 was up 2.9 per cent to 828.38 by 18:00 local time (17:00 GMT), Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 6.43 per cent and Japan's Nikkei was also up 2.12 per cent by close of business yesterday.
The global surge reflected a rally in US stocks following JP Morgan's offer of $10 (£5) a share from the $2 (£1) originally offered.
A rise in US home sales last month also boosted hopes the worst of the housing slump may be over.