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The FTSE started the day in decline, but by mid-morning the index was trading back at its opening level.
UK stocks retreated off the bat this morning as Tullow Oil fell sharply after reporting a 92% drop in earnings from last year. The index's prospects improved through the morning, however, as ICAP (+5.33%) and RBS (+4.03%) offset early losses and pulled the FTSE back up above and beyond 5600. By 10am London's blue-chips were up 0.03% on the day.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown confirmed today that this year's UK Budget will be held in 'two weeks time'. The announcement is apt following yesterday's news that the UK's trade deficit had widened against expectations, and reports today that UK industrial output for January fell by 0.4%, again unexpectedly, against December's strong figures. Revised figures published earlier this month confirmed that the UK had emerged from recession, but these worse-than-expected results continue to stifle any early celebrations for the moment.
