London open: Stocks gain; banks recover poise as Credit Suisse takes $54bn loan

London stocks rose in early trade on Thursday following a heavy selloff in the previous session, as bank shares recovered after Credit Suisse took a $54bn loan from the Swiss National Bank.

At 0845 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.9% at 7,409.47, having closed down a whopping 3.8% on Wednesday, led by banks.

Beleaguered Swiss lender Credit Swiss said earlier that it has agreed to take a CHF50bn ($54bn) loan from the Swiss National Bank after its shares tumbled on Wednesday, sparking a selloff in global financial markets.

CS also said it was making a cash tender offer in relation to 10 US dollar-denominated senior debt securities for up to $2.5bn and a separate cash tender offer in relation to four Euro-denominated senior debt securities for €500m.

Chief executive officer Ulrich Koerner said: "These measures demonstrate decisive action to strengthen Credit Suisse as we continue our strategic transformation to deliver value to our clients and other stakeholders.

"My team and I are resolved to move forward rapidly to deliver a simpler and more focused bank built around client needs."

Shares in Credit Suisse crumbed more than 40% on Wednesday after top shareholder Saudi National Bank said it would not provide the lender with any further financial support.

According to reports, asked whether his bank was open to further injections of cash if there was another call for more liquidity, Saudi National Bank's chairman Ammar Al Khudairy said: "The answer is absolutely not, for many reasons outside the simplest reason which is regulatory and statutory."

However, he later told CNBC that Wednesday’s panic was not warranted.

"There has been no discussions with Credit Suisse about providing assistance," he told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble. "I don’t know where the word ‘assistance’ came from, there has been no discussions whatsoever since October."

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Credit Suisse is the first major bank, deemed too big to fail, to take up the offer of an emergency lifeline. The announcement that it will draw on emergency funds from the Swiss National Bank underlines how fragile the lender had become, as the withdrawal of deposits continued at pace and confidence seeped away.

"It also highlights the lightning speed of the global fall-out of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, which has shaken the banking sector, and prompted investors spotting weaknesses in other institutions, to race for the exit. The $54 billion rescue wad is staunching worries about a bigger run on Credit Suisse and the repercussions for other institutions around the world exposed to its operations.

"For now, the move has restored a little stability to global markets, with the S&P 500 regaining ground, once it appeared the Swiss National Bank was standing by to help. Nerves are still frayed though and that has been evident during trade in Asia."

Looking ahead to the rest of the day, investors were eyeing the latest policy announcement from the European Central Bank at 1315 GMT.

In equity markets, banks recovered some poise, with Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds among the top performers on the FTSE 100.

Investors were also sifted through a raft of earnings.

Rentokil rallied as it posted a jump in full-year profit and hiked its dividend, underpinned by recent acquisitions.

OSB, Bridgepoint and Helios were also trading up after results, while Investec gained after saying it expects to report an increase in full-year operating profit as it benefits from continued client acquisition, rising global interest rates and higher average advances.

On the downside, gold miner Centamin lost its shine despite saying that full-year profits rose 11% to $171m, driven by a strong rise in production.

Real estate agent Savills was in the red as it said it expects a tough first half of the current year and reported a fall in annual profits.

NatWest, Segro, Crest Nicholson, Dunelm, Anglo American, Spirent Communications and Ferguson were all trading without entitlement to the dividend.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,409.47 0.89%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,751.98 0.68%
techMARK (TASX) 4,495.28 0.42%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Rentokil Initial (RTO) 535.20p 6.40%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 440.10p 3.55%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 137.54p 2.92%
Barclays (BARC) 142.10p 2.79%
Glencore (GLEN) 422.15p 2.46%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 561.30p 2.35%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 47.08p 2.30%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 110.60p 2.03%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 147.06p 2.03%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,472.50p 1.87%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

M&G (MNG) 185.80p -6.35%
SEGRO (SGRO) 765.00p -2.25%
Fresnillo (FRES) 730.00p -1.03%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,535.50p -0.94%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,045.00p -0.81%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 259.70p -0.80%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 3,942.00p -0.28%
National Grid (NG.) 1,046.50p -0.19%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 93.91p -0.12%
Prudential (PRU) 1,036.00p 0.00%

FTSE 250 - Risers

OSB Group (OSB) 500.50p 5.28%
Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 215.00p 4.78%
Investec (INVP) 459.80p 4.62%
Helios Towers (HTWS) 109.00p 4.21%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 126.40p 3.61%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 1,230.00p 3.27%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 132.50p 3.27%
easyJet (EZJ) 483.80p 2.89%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 254.50p 2.87%
ASOS (ASC) 804.50p 2.55%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Centamin (DI) (CEY) 102.30p -4.48%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 210.00p -4.20%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 1,128.00p -3.84%
Savills (SVS) 970.00p -2.81%
Balfour Beatty (BBY) 338.80p -2.64%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 173.10p -2.26%
Petershill Partners (PHLL) 156.40p -2.25%
Moonpig Group (MOON) 117.00p -1.60%
Currys (CURY) 70.60p -1.40%
JPMorgan Emerging Markets Inv Trust (JMG) 103.60p -1.33%