LONDON, July 8: World financial markets mostly found their feet Friday, a day after terrorist bombings killed more than 50 people in London, and also in the knowledge that central bankers stand ready to ward off any threats to the financial system.

However, the Bank of England insisted that it had no plans for a special rate cut.

London’s stock market rallied along with its European counterparts as shaken city workers returned to their desks.

“Both the financial community and the public have shown defiance and an inability to allow the terrorist to have more than a temporary impact,” said Divyang Shah, strategist with research group IDEAglobal.

Merrill Lynch analysts added that the attacks “do not appear to represent a targeted threat to the stability of the financial system.”

London’s FTSE 100 index of leading shares recovered from an almost 200-point fall on Thursday.

The FTSE 100 rose 1.22 per cent to 5,221.10 points in early afternoon trading on Friday after plunging by more than 3 per cent at one stage on Thursday, before closing 1.38 per cent lower.

In Frankfurt the DAX 30 won 0.97 percent to 4,574.23 points Friday, in Paris the CAC 40 jumped 1.42 percent to 4,280.51 points and the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares climbed 1.35 percent to 3,212.74.

The US currency regained strength Friday before publication of US jobs data later in the day. The dollar stood at 112.29 yen in early European trading, from 111.99 late on Thursday in New York.

The euro fell to 1.1907 dollars, from 1.1953 late on Thursday.

Meanwhile, World oil prices rebounded on growing concerns that a hurricane could damage US rigs, as President Vladimir Putin promised an increase in Russian energy supplies after the Group of Eight (G8) rich nations sounded alarm over record high crude prices.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in August, rose 47 cents to $61.20 per barrel in early deals on Friday.

On Thursday it had struck a record high point of $62.10 before briefly plummeting in the wake of the London terrorist bombings.

In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude oil for delivery in August rose 26 cents to $59.54 per barrel on Friday. It had hit a historic peak of $60.70 on Thursday ahead of the blasts.

—AFP