BA helps FTSE take flight

British Airways helped the FTSE 100 into an early lead on Friday after announcing 800 employees had agreed to work for free for up to one month.

Shortly after 8.15am, the benchmark blue-chip index was up more than 52 points, or 1.24%, at 4,305.46.

The struggling airline saw stocks jump 6.9p or 5.45% to 133.5p this morning, after the deal, which also sees 4,000 employees taking unpaid leave and 1,400 working part-time, was announced yesterday. British Airways says the move could save the company up to £10m.

Meanwhile, heating and plumbing producer Wolseley advanced 45p, or 4.17%, to £11.23 while mining giant Kazakhmys was also among the biggest winners, gaining 25.5p, or 4.08%, to 650p.

Intertek Group was among the biggest fallers this morning, dropping 17p, or 1.61%, to £10.36, followed by British Sky Broadcasting Group which fell 5.25p, or 1.16%, to 446.5p. 

Overseas, Japanese stocks saw their biggest rally in a month on Thursday, with the Nikkei 225 up 205.76 points, or 2.2%, to 9,796.08, its biggest gain since May. 

Overnight, US aluminium producer Alcoa led the Dow Jones to an impressive close on Thursday, up 172.54 points, or 2.08%, to 8,472.40.