FTSE LIVE: London shares higher as US Fed is set to delay tapering; RBS falls

11:00: London shares are trading 9.37 points higher at 6631.95 as traders ease back into the swing of things now that the spectre of US default has been avoided and Fed is expected to delay stimulus taper.
Top of the bluechip leader board are security group G4S, up over 3 per cent on speculation that Charterhouse are considering a £1billion approach for their underperforming cash solutions business.
Alastair McCaig, Market Analyst, IG, said: 'The start of a fresh week where markets can once again focus on corporate news flow should hopefully see traders with a cheerier disposition, having left behind the cloud under which they've been sitting for the last couple of weeks.'

London shares opened higher following gains on Asian markets

9:00: The Footsie is 5.56 points higher at 6,628.14, while the Dax and Cac 40 in Frankfurt and Paris respectively are both marginally lower as investors prepare for this week's flood of delayed announcements on the US economy.
The updates, which come as US government departments return to work after their two-week shutdown due to the budget stand-off, include the closely-watched non-farm payrolls data tomorrow.
Royal Bank of Scotland was the biggest faller in London's top flight amid expectations that the government could give the go-ahead for a good bank, bad bank split within the next couple of weeks.

RBS shares were 22.25p lower at 350.35p, while Barclays fell 4.7p to 273.1p.
Sentiment in the sector was also hurt by reports that JPMorgan Chase has reached an £8billion deal with US authorities to settle a series of civil probes over sales of mortgage-backed bonds in the run-up to the financial crisis.
Marks & Spencer shares were also under pressure after it emerged that Gillian Ridley Whittle, development and buying director for womenswear, is to leave to join Australian department store group Target.
Her exit will heap more pressure on the chain as investors brace for its ninth consecutive quarter of falling general merchandise sales, which span clothing and non-food. Shares were 4.95p lower at 490.15p.

8:15: London shares leapt on the open following gains on Asian markets as risk appetite continues to build following the US fiscal resolution, Friday’s upbeat Chinese GDP figures and expectations of delayed Fed tapering.
Britain's FTSE 100 index was trading 4.08 points higher, or 0.73 per cent, at 6,624.13 shortly after the open.
Britain's top share index hit a one-month high on Friday, with miners cheered by news of improving economic growth in China and with insurer Prudential boosted by buoyant business at an Asia-focused peer.

Factors to watch include:

BHP BILLITON: The Global miner said on Monday it has given up nine oil and gas exploration blocks in India due to its inability to carry out exploration operations there.
ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND: British finance minister George Osborne said his ministry was actively looking at breaking up the state-backed Royal Bank of Scotland to create a 'bad bank' to house its problem loans, the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on Friday.
ROYAL MAIL: Britain's Royal Mail was valued by some investment banks 50 per cent higher than last week's public sale price, a newspaper reported, adding to a debate over whether the postal service was sold off too cheaply.
QINETIQ: The defence technology firm could be broken up after bosses at the former Ministry of Defence research arm put its American division up for sale, according to various newspapers. British companies posted lower than expected dividend growth in the third quarter, with total payouts for the year now set to be below 2012's record level, a study showed on Monday.

 

NUCLEAR: French utility EDF and the British government have signed an agreement to build two nuclear reactors for a total cost of £16billion ($25.9billion), EDF said in a statement on Monday.
COSTAIN : The engineering consultancy, construction and operations and maintenance firm agrees Hinkley Point nuclear power contract with EDF.
MARKS & SPENCER: Hopes of reviving its struggling fashion division suffered a setback this weekend with the resignation of one of its senior womenswear executives. Gillian Ridley White, development and buying director, has told M&S she intends to join Target, the Australian department store chain, according to The Sunday Times.
G4S: Traders expect the security firm to open up between 2 and 5 per cent on Monday after Bloomberg reported over the weekend that the British private equity group Charterhouse Capital Partners was mulling making a £1billion ($1.6billion) offer for G4S's cash-solutions business .
BALFOUR BEATTY: The global infrastructure company has been awarded a 64 million pound crossrail electrification contract. British companies posted lower than expected dividend growth in the third quarter, with total payouts for the year now set to be below 2012's record level, a study showed on Monday.

 

SENIOR: The UK-listed manufacturer announced that for fiscal 2013, it expects adjusted profit before tax to be in line with previous expectations, assuming no further deterioration in exchange rates.
GREEN DRAGON GAS: The gas production company expects to beat year-end exit rate forecast.
HYDRODEC: The refiner of used transformer oil into new SUPERfine oil announced it has conditionally raised 20 million pounds through the placing of new ordinary shares with institutional and other investors and is seeking to raise up to a further 4 million pounds through an open offer at an issue price of 11.25p per Ordinary Share.
INFORMA: The services firm says full-year expectations are unchanged. Private-equity backed Merlin Entertainments said on Monday it planned to sell at least 20 per cent of its shares in an initial public offering in London.
British companies posted lower than expected dividend growth in the third quarter, with total payouts for the year now set to be below 2012's record level, a study showed on Monday