FTSE trades at highest level in five years
The FTSE 100 Index traded at its highest level for more than five years today as investors around the world put their faith in stocks and shares.
The Footsie was up 22 points to 6143.3 at lunchtime – its highest level since February 2001 and above the 6137 it touched on April 21 before closing at 6132.
It came after another record breaking performance on Wall Street last night where the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at an all-time high, while markets were also on the rise in Hong Kong and Japan.
Lloyds TSB led the charge in London with a 2% rise of 12.5p to 571.5p after HSBC upgraded the stock. Rival Barclays fared less well, however, after HSBC downgraded its rating sending shares 3p lower to 719p.
Mining and oil stocks added weight to the market as the cost of metals and crude rose. Heavyweight blue chip player BP was the session’s second biggest riser with gains of 12.5p to 593.5p while BHP Billiton moved 14p higher to 985p and Vedanta Resources was up 14p to 1376p.
But the rising oil price spelt bad news for British Airways where higher fuel costs hurt profits. Shares in BA were down 5.75p to 443.25p.
Second-tier stock Carphone Warehouse was in the spotlight again as its rollercoaster week continued.
It impressed investors on Wednesday with the acquisition of the UK arm of AOL, which bolstered its broadband internet customer base to two million and sent its shares up 8%.
However, Vodafone announced yesterday it was dumping Carphone as a provider of its contract phones and there was further concern as Orange said it was also reviewing its retail options.
It sent shares tumbling 13% yesterday and they fell a further 3% in early trading today before recovering to stand 4p higher at 314p.
High street retailer WH Smith was also making progress after a 7% fall yesterday as investors were left unimpressed despite rising profits. The stock was back in favour today, however, as it lifted 5% or 16.75p to 365.75p.
Elsewhere, specialist engineering group Renishaw slipped more than 3% after warning profits would take a knock if current exchange rates were sustained. Shares were down 26p at 763.5p.
Meanwhile, the recovery of UK Coal was dealt a blow today after it revealed it would make a loss in the current financial year because of production problems. The stock was down 3.25p at 217.75p.
