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London shares rise, boosted by Lloyds (AFP)
LONDON (AFP) –
Leading shares rose in early deals on Friday, boosted by state-rescued bank Lloyds' forecast of a return to profit in 2010 after two years of losses.
of top shares gained 0.63 percent to 5,678.21 points in late morning trade.
,” said IG Index analyst Philip Gillett.
jumped 9.25 percent to 60.69 pence.
Partly-nationalised Lloyds forecast that it will return to profitability in 2010 and reported strong business in the first few months of the year.
“In the first 10 weeks of 2010, the group's trading performance has been strong and we are pleased with the group's performance against each area of recent guidance,” Lloyds said in a trading update.
Lloyds, which is 41.3-percent owned by the British government after a huge bailout, suffered a loss of 6.3 billion pounds last year as
soared 60 percent following the takeover of former rival HBOS.
The loss, equivalent to 7.0 billion euros or 9.6 billion dollars, was an improvement from the shortfall of 6.7 billion pounds faced in 2008.
“Overall … the group believes that it will be profitable on a combined businesses basis in 2010,” it added.