Morning Markets: FTSE buoyed by late Dow rally

London trading got off to a positive start this morning after the Dow Jones narrowed a large deficit over night.

Though the main Wall Street index was down for the day, a late rally in stocks gave the FTSE 100 confidence to push forward, rising 26.56 points (0.52%) to 5,160.92.

Rio Tinto shares climbed this morning on news it had disposed of $7bn of assets in the past 18 months.

Carnival shares surged forward in early trade after the cruise operator was added to Bank of America's prestigious ‘Europe 1' list, up 2.09% to £21.03.

Energy stocks were hit by a commodity sell-off in the US, with United Utilities Group down 1.95% to 456.4p, Scottish & Southern Energy lost 0.51% to £11.61 and International Power shares fell 0.34% to 297.2p.

On Wall Street, share prices fell as a strengthening dollar led to a sell-off in commodities.

The Dow Jones dropped 41.34 points (0.42%) to 9,778.86, with financials faring badly on expectations the summer rally will pull back during the autumn.

American Express shares fell 2.9% to $33.76, while Bank of America dipped 2.04% to $17.27.

The fall in commodity values caused Exxon Mobil shares to slip 0.96% to $69.32, while Caterpillar, a major supplier of machinery to mining companies, saw its shares lose 1.8% to $52.46.

Stock markets in Tokyo were closed overnight as part of a five-day long national holiday.