Lloyds Share News (LLOY)

Footsie ended the day almost 2% higher after a strong performance throughout the day. The positive opening of Wall Street gave a further boost later in the afternoon. The Dow has jumped over 100 points helped by optimism that the $800bn plus Health Care Bill could get approved sooner rather than later. The Footsie risers are dominated by financials, such as Prudential, Aviva and Old Mutual, but Cairn Energy was the best performer. Cairn has secured a drill ship to get an early start on its exploration activities in Greenland. The oil company said drilling in Greenland will start a year ahead of schedule. Royal Dutch Shell is wanted on press reports it is to auction £3bn of assets in Nigeria. The Times says two of China's state-run oil companies are in the running. Press reports are also driving the share price of Tullow Oil which, according to the Financial Times, is poised to stymie Heritage Oil's proposed £930m sale of assets to Italian oil giant ENI. Tullow, which jointly owns the assets with Heritage, has the option to block the sale. Banks have rallied a little after heavy falls last week on the recommendations by the Basel Committee. Lloyds and Barclays each get a lift from Deutsche Bank, which has reiterated its buy recommendations on those two banks and Royal Bank of Scotland, which still ended the day lower. London Stock Exchange (LSE) is to acquire Turquoise, the trading platform that was set up by banks in 2008 to challenge LSE's dominance. LSE said it will merge Turquoise with its trading facility Baikal Global to create a pan-European trading venture. The share price fell back on the news and the LSE was the biggest loser in the FTSE 100. Punch Taverns is the biggest faller in the FTSE 250 as investors continue to worry about the pub operator's debt burden. Mobile phone giant Vodafone has confirmed it will begin selling Apple's iPhone in the UK on 14 January. Embattled bus and train group National Express said full year profits are likely to be in line with previously indicated levels. The group's underlying revenue trends have stabilised in the fourth quarter. Sportswear retailer Sports Direct is in trouble according to the Times, which says it has been reported to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for allegedly breaking City rules in its attempt to buy Blacks Leisure. Satellite operator Avanti Communications is to raise £86m in new equity and has agreed £194m of new borrowings to fund the launch of its second wireless broadband satellite, HYLAS 2. Oil services specialist Hunting results this year will be 'towards the high end of market expectations' after good results from aviation offset weak exploration and shipping activity. Shares in marine equipment supplier Raymarine slumped because Garmin decided not to bid for the whole company. The announcement was made after the market closed on Friday. Garmin will instead buy the operating subsidiary. Due diligence is being carried out. AIM-quoted miner Triple Plate Junction was the best performer on the day following the acquisition of a 3.29% stake by Steven Poulton. Poulton is involved with a number of mining companies, including African Aura Mining. The share price of Prosperity Minerals shot up after the iron ore trader said the proposed sale of its Chinese cement business is to go ahead. Prosperity expects its cash position will be boosted by HK$3,800m (around £300m) as a result of the sale of Upper Value Investments, which will also leave it debt free. Shares in Lombard Risk Management soared after the trading software company won a contract to supply the Dutch bank ABN Amro with its risk management software COLLINE. Germ killing technology company Byotrol's share price received a boost after it said that it had its US patent application accepted. Byotrol, which applied for the patent in 2002, said the patent runs until 2022. Things are looking up for recruitment and business process outsourcing group Network Group Holdings, which said the second half of its trading year had seen an improvement in profitability.FTSE 100 - RisersCairn Energy (CNE) 3,188.00p +4.66%Prudential (PRU) 625.00p +4.52%Aviva (AV.) 384.70p +4.06%Old Mutual (OML) 107.30p +3.77%Xstrata (XTA) 1,053.50p +3.39%FTSE 100 - FallersLondon Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 706.00p -1.60%Aggreko (AGK) 887.00p -1.44%Sage Group (SGE) 223.20p -0.45%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 29.81p -0.07%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 398.10p +0.03%FTSE 250 - RisersHunting (HTG) 543.50p +7.20%Genus (GNS) 673.00p +6.49%Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 1,170.00p +5.50%Fidelity Special Values (FSV) 530.00p +5.47%Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 290.00p +5.45%FTSE 250 - FallersPunch Taverns (PUB) 65.15p -3.62%Mcbride (MCB) 205.10p -3.07%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 195.30p -2.88%PZ Cussons (PZC) 250.00p -2.50%Aveva Group (AVV) 981.00p -2.49%