FTSE highest since Lehman Brothers collapse

Morning trading on the FTSE 100 has pushed it to a level not reached since Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008.

According to Reuters, the index was up 0.8 per cent at the midway point of trading today, climbing to 5,442.85 points and recording an increase for the fifth consecutive session.

The rally came despite a decline in some banking stocks, with Standard Chartered, HSBC and Barclays retreating by as much as 0.9 per cent.

There were also falls for retailers Marks & Spencer, Home Retail Group and Next, which declined by up to 0.4 per cent.

However, gains from mining shares helped the FTSE to end the morning session in positive territory, as Xstrata Lonmin, Kazakhmys, Vedanta Resources and BHP Billiton all gained.

Earlier this month, a poll by the news source found that analysts expect global stock markets to continue to rally during 2010, with the FTSE 100 forecast to end the year 9.7 per cent higher than its current position.ADNFCR-2318-ID-19532622-ADNFCR