(Updating with full report)
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - UK blue chips pushed higher in opening deals, bouncing back after yesterday's declines, supported by yesterday's recovery on Wall Street, with Royal Dutch Shell gaining after third-quarter results.
At 9.22 am, the FTSE 100 index was 55.5 points higher at 6,537.5, with all the broader FTSE indices also firmer.
Early volume was solid, with 367 mln shares changing hands in 88,574 deals.
Overnight on Wall Street, the DJIA ended off just 0.98 points at 13,675.25 following earlier steep losses after Merrill Lynch's big write-down raised concern over other banks' exposure to the credit markets.
It recovered amid hopes of an imminent interest rate cut, with the Fed scheduled to meet next week to discuss the matter.
Broader stock indicators also fell but were also off earlier lows. Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 3.71 points to 1,515.88, while the Nasdaq composite index lost 24.5 points to 2,774.76.
The mood was mixed today in Asia. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index closed 74.22 points weaker at 16,284.17. Meanwhile in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng ended its morning up 190.57 points at 29,524.1.
Oil prices traded higher in Asia on news US energy stockpiles fell sharply last week and rising tensions in the Middle East after Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish rebel camps in northern Iraq.
New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, was 85 cents higher at 87.95 usd per barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for December was up 73 cents at 85.10 usd.
Oil is a key focus today, with Royal Dutch Shell up 20 pence at 2,075-1/2 following consensus-beating third-quarter results, which triggered positive broker comment.
Earlier, Shell reported earnings for the three months to September of 6.4 bln usd on an adjusted current cost of supply basis, up from 6.9 bln last time. After stripping out one-off items, core earnings declined to 6.1 bln usd from 7 bln, ahead of the consensus figure of 5.6 bln.
In other earnings news, shares in Aviva soared nearly 3 pct or 20-1/2 pence to 724-1/2 after the UK's biggest insurer said nine-month life and pension sales rose 21 pct to 22.935 bln stg, with strong European growth offsetting slower progress in the UK.
The figure beat analysts expectations of 22.707 bln stg.
Meanwhile, Reuters took on 8-1/2 pence to 646-1/4 ahead of today's trading statement, with third-quarter sales forecast as being buoyed by a push into China and India as well as record volumes in currency trading.
Average consensus figures from six analysts provided by the company forecast revenue in the three months to Sept 30 of 645 mln stg, up from 631 mln last time.
Good gains were also seen from Vodafone, 6 pence firmer at 184.2, after consensus-beating third-quarter results from France Telecom and yesterday's JP Morgan upgrade to 'overweight' from 'neutral'.
Better levels were seen from Cable & Wireless too, up 4.1 pence at 190.7.
Also lending support were the heavyweight miners, with fresh talk of a bid from BHP Billiton for Rio Tinto, with the shares up 32 pence at 1,773, and 110 pence at 4,198 respectively.
Also among the top sector gainers was Kazakhmys, which took on 42 pence to 1,419, and Vedanta Resources, which rose 47 pence to 2,110.
Lonmin shares, meanwhile, lost out, down 13 pence at 3,237, following a full-year production update that Evolution Securities called "disappointing".
Earlier today, the world's third-biggest platinum producer said full-year platinum sales fell 16 pct, in line with its revised forecast range following an August strike at its main operation, and again raised its unit cost guidance for Marikanamm.
Elsewhere among today's handful of casualties, GlaxoSmithKline dropped 20 pence to 1,229, continuing yesterday's fall following the pharmaceutical group's third-quarter results that prompted WestLB to cut its rating to 'sell' and HSBC to cut its target to 1,180 pence from 1,220.
Among the second liners, shares in easyJet soared, up nearly 3 pct or 16-1/2 pence at 599, after the low-cost carrier said it has agreed to acquire GB Airways, excluding its slots at Heathrow airport, from the Bland Group for 103.5 mln stg in cash.
The low-cost carrier said the acquisition would strengthen its offering because of the valuable take-off and landing slots at Gatwick and the opportunity to accelerate its route development.
Good gains were also seen from PartyGaming, up 0-3/4 pence at 28-1/4, after the UK-listed online poker firm reported a 24 pct increase in third-quarter net revenue compared with the previous year and said it is confident about prospects for the full year.
On a negative note, downbeat third-quarter results helped push shares in Arm Holdings to the top of the midcap loserboard, down 8 pence at 141-1/2.
The UK microchip designer reported a fall in third-quarter revenues, blaming the weak US dollar, although it said it expects growth to recover in the fourth quarter and is on track to meet expectations for 2007.
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