FTSE 100 surges 1.85%
FTSE 100 closes at seven month high
Also In The News
|
By inthenews. |  |
Thursday, 30, Jul 2009 05:56
The FTSE 100 rose 1.85 per cent to 4,631.61, the highest level since January.
BT Group led the surge, jumping 12.6 per cent after the firm's first quarter results beat market expectations.
Plumbing and heating supplier Wolseley was also trading higher, by 10.17 per cent, after Travis Perkins beat forecasts for first half profits.
Only a few stocks were in the red, with publisher Reed Elsevier registering the biggest fall of 12.55 per cent.
David Jones, chief market strategist for IG Index, said: "Updates from the likes of BT Group and Rolls Royce, while still cautious on the outlook for business over the months to come, have been better than the market was expecting and this seems to have given investors fresh confidence.
"The only way is up for US markets at the moment too, with the Dow Jones index also hitting fresh highs for 2009, despite a bigger-than-expected jump in initial jobless claims."
Over in the US, markets were heading higher going into afternoon trading, with the Dow Jones up by 1.62 per cent and the S&P 500 up by 1.69 per cent.