Britain's FTSE extends gains on fresh stimulus hopes

LONDON July 27 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index pushed

higher on Friday, extending the previous session's strong gains

in tandem with leaps overnight on Wall Street and in Asia, on

hopes that central bank meetings next week will take steps to

help the struggling global economy.

At 0706 GMT, the FTSE 100 index was up 8.41 points,

or 0.2 percent, at 5,581.57, having jumped 1.4 percent on

Thursday after European Central Bank president Mario Draghi

pledged to do whatever was needed to preserve the euro, boosting

hopes for more decisive action in the single currency's debt

crisis.

Another crop of corporate earnings provided the main

direction early on.

Barclays was the top FTSE 100 gainer, up 4 percent,

after beating expectations with an underlying half-year profit

of more than 4 billion pounds. The British bank apologised for

an interest rate rigging scandal that has rocked it and the

banking industry in the past month.

Publishing group Pearson and miner Anglo American

were the top fallers, down 2.7 percent and 2.1 percent

respectively, as their updates disappointed.

(Reporting by Jon Hopkins)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/britains-ftse-extends-gains-fresh-stimulus-hopes-071220284--sector.html

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