British bank Barclays is trading up over 3% after the head of its Barclays Capital investment banking arm told investors that profit for the year-to-date are "well ahead" of 2006, with the unit positioned for future growth despite market jitters.
Barclays' share price has been hit recently, along with other financials, by the global credit squeeze.
Bob Diamond, president of the group and head of Barclays Capital, said in a speech that BarCap saw a profitable July and August, in spite of market turbulence.
"It's encouraging that he expands on saying that July and August were profitable. He says year-to-date profits are up on this time last year, and that implies a healthy run rate," one industry analyst said.
Barclays, roughly flat before Diamond's speech, is the FTSE index's top gainer, up 2.8% at 599 pence, outperforming a rise in the FTSE .