Shares in British banks were broadly up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after a string of good company results helped boost investor confidence.

Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems, Reed Elsevier and AstraZeneca all posted some good results for the first half of the year, with AstraZeneca also saying it would double its 2010 share buyback programme.

The news helped boost the FTSE 100, which was also aided by a rise in banking shares.

By 11:00 shares in Lloyds Banking Group were up 0.17 per cent to 69.47 pence per share, RBS shares rose 0.32 per cent to 49.89 pence per share and HSBC shares increased 0.62 per cent to 667.40 pence per share.

Shares in Barclays however fell 0.57 per cent to 337.15 pence per share.

Overall the FTSE 100 was up 0.66 per cent to 5,354.93.

Barclays HSBC FTSE