Fall in jobless figures boosts FTSE
News that unemployment in the UK has fallen again sparked a strong rally for London shares today.
The FTSE 100 Index struggled for early momentum but surged to stand 25.8 points higher at 4484.4 after data showed 30,000 more people had found work between February and April.
This was in line with expectations and helped to ease fears that the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee might raise interest rates again soon.
Market morale had already been lifted by US inflation figures which cooled fears of a big interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
Asian stock markets followed the lead of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which closed nearly 46 points to the good last night.
Corporate news today was dominated by logistics group Exel’s £328m (€496.5m) bid for rival Tibbett & Britten.
Shares in Exel were third in the Footsie fallers, down 2% or 11.5p to 693.5p, after it surprised the City with a higher-than-expected offer for Tibbett.
In contrast, Tibbett shares surged for the second day in a row to stand 14% higher, up 80.5p at 665p.
Shares in utility Severn Trent retreated more than 4% or 36p to 795p after new investors lost the right to its latest dividend payment.
Other stocks going ex-dividend also fell and these included Tesco, down 0.5p at 258.75p, and HSBC off 2.5p at 815p.
Meanwhile, AIM-listed Oasis Healthcare saw its shares fall 0.25p to 16p despite unveiling profits of £1.2m (€1.8m) and a 58% hike in turnover to £73.9m (€111.8m).
Another stock losing ground was specialist printer Wyndeham Press after a 30% fall in annual profits. Cautious optimism on its future prospects, including the benefits of new business wins, could not prevent shares falling 4% or 5p to 116.5p.
