Leading shares could yet avoid a tenth successive fall, as against earlier expectations Wall Street has opened higher and dragged the UK market up with it.
As US shoppers pile into the stores on Black Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up around 50 points in early trading, despite predictions of a fall of some 70 points following Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday. This has lifted the FTSE 100 51.25 points to 5178.82, while European markets are also edging higher.
If it continues like this, it would be the first rise since November 11. But the mood is still fragile, with worries about the eurozone debt crisis spreading. Hungary is the latest to have its debt rating slashed, while the day's Italian bond auction got away successfully, but at the price of a doubling in the yield.
There is also talk of the Swiss Central Bank possibly announcing further measures to dampen the franc against the euro.
