5 percentrespectively while Royal Dutch Shell RDSa

Barclays (BARC.L), Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) HSBC(HSBA.L) and Standard Chartered (STAN.L) gained between 1.6 and9.1 percent. However the UK banking index .FTNMX8350 has tumbled 18.1percent this month after plummeting over 56 percent last year. British consumer confidence fell to its second-lowest levelon record in January as people fretted about the deepeningrecession and grew increasingly worried about their ownfinances, a survey showed on Friday The GfK NOP index fell four points to -37. That was lowerthan at any point during the recessions of the early 1990s and1980s and the weakest since the record low last July when oilprices were at record peaks and interest rates were much higher.ID:nLT255718 But bad news is expected and trading was skittish.

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"Sentiment is on a knife edge all the time which inevitablyhappens when a market is trying to find the bottom, sentimentcan shift almost on a daily basis," Kavanagh said. Rio Tinto (RIO.L) gained 5.4 percent after the mining giantsaid it will sell its potash assets and its Corumba iron oremine in Brazil for $1.6 billion to rival Vale VALE.SA. Citigroup said it expects further asset sales from Rio Tintoover coming months The broker repeats its "buy" rating on RioTinto shares. Xstrata (XTA.L) added 0.5 percent, adding to gains theprevious session after the Financial Times reported it is facingan investor backlash over plans to structure a 4.1 billionpounds ($5.79 billion) rights issue. ID:nLT183096But other mining stocks fell as metal prices fell.Anglo American (AAL.L) lost 1.6 percent and BHP Billiton(BLT.L) slid 1.6 percent.Energy heavyweights were mixed as crude prices rose slightlyCLc1.

BP (BP.L), BG Group (BG.L) gained0.1 and 3.5 percentrespectively, while Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) fell 2.2 percent.Private equity group 3i Group (III.L) gained 3.2 percentrecovering a little from the record low it touched the previoussession on fears that it may be forced to shore up its financesthrough a rights issue. (Reporting by Simon Falush;Editing by Hans Peters) Stocks Stocks. TOKYO(Business Wire)Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT)(TOKYO:6501) today announced that it has submitted tothe Kanto Local Finance Bureau an Amendment Statement for Tender OfferRegistration Statement in relation to the January 14 announcement of itsintention to purchase additional common stocks of Hitachi Koki Co., Ltd.(TOKYO:6581) by way of a public tender offer (hereinafter "Tender Offer"). TheAmendment Statement was submitted to the Kanto Local Finance Bureau pursuant toArticle 27-8, Paragraph 2 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law ofJapan Summary is as follows.