London shares higher in early trade; Compass and FirstGroup stronger

At 9.02 am, the FTSE 100 was up 54.2 points at 5,714.6, having fallen 28.7 points to close at 5,660.4 yesterday. The FTSE 250 was up 129.4 points at 9,885.5. Volume was average with 276.4 mln shares changing hands in 77,181 deals.

Wall Street pulled back yesterday after a drop in February's durable goods orders injected more pessimism about the economy into the stock market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 109.74, or 0.88 pct, to 12,422.86, after sinking as much as 155 points during trading. Broader stock indicators also retreated. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 11.86, or 0.88 pct, to 1,341.13, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 16.69, or 0.71 pct, to 2,324.36.

The indices ended the day at levels similar to where they had been as the London market was closing. In Asia this morning, Japan's Nikkei 225 ended the day 102.05 points, or 0.8 pct, lower at 12,604.58. Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed up 47.21 points, or 0.2 pct, at 22,664.22. Oil prices were higher in Asian trade, bolstered by a weaker-than-expected energy stockpiles report in the US, the world's biggest energy user.

In afternoon trade, New York's main contract light sweet crude for May delivery rose 45 cents to 106.35 usd a barrel from Wednesday's close of 105.90 during US floor trading hours. London's Brent North Sea crude for May delivery gained 35 cents to 104.34 usd a barrel.

Back in London, caterer Compass Group headed the FTSE 100 leaderboard after saying trading in the first five months of the current year was ahead of its expectations and it is confident the current momentum will be maintained throughout the second half. The shares rose 12-1/4 pence to 322-3/4.