It would be wrong to call them rays of sunshine. But at least there were a few more signs yesterday that the gloom might not be as Stygian as it has seemed of late.

The IMF increased its forecast for US growth this year to a sluggish 1.3 per cent from a virtually stationary 0.5 per cent. And it nudged up its growth prediction for next year to 0.8 per cent.

There were additional snippets of good news in terms of better than expected US housing starts and jobless claims figures.

For Britain, the IMF increased its forecast for growth next year to 1.7 per cent. That looks rather optimistic with some City forecasts going as low as 0.5 per cent. And today will bring more grim news about the public finances, which have been badly hit by falling corporate tax receipts and the impact of the collapsing housing market on stamp duty takings.

But slowing growth, particularly in China, should at least bring one important benefit by taking some of the pressure off the oil price. The price tumbled on Wednesday after the latest figures on US oil stocks suggested that demand was finally starting to slow and the retreat continued yesterday, helping to fuel a strong bounce in UK stock prices.

The FTSE 100 index jumped 2.6 per cent with bank stocks recovering sharply, following the lead from Wall Street on Wednesday. Shares in HBOS rose 5 per cent to 268¼p, although the price was still below the 275p level of its £4 billion rights issue. Investors have until this morning to take up their rights and even if the rally continues a very large chunk of the issue looks set to be left with the underwriters. But at least the underwriters will be sleeping slightly easier.

Barclays shares surged 9 per cent to 290½p, taking the price above the 282p level at which shareholders can claw back stock from the £4.5 billion issue to the Qatar Investment Authority and other investors.

US investors were cheered by earnings from JPMorgan, which were bad, but not as bad as expected. The chief executive, Jamie Dimon, said that there were glimpses of sunlight in some parts of the US home loans market but he was generally extremely cautious. Nevertheless, the shares jumped and financial stocks that have been badly battered in recent days, notably Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and Lehman Brothers, continued to rally, though the picture was spoilt by worse than expected losses from Merrill Lynch after the market closed.

Back home, many media stocks which have been savaged in recent days also recovered.

The outlook for the economy remains as dismal as the weather forecast. But if the oil price stays under pressure, investors can hope for a few more sunny intervals.

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