FTSE 100 finishes up past 5,200 despite mid-afternoon dip

Morning trading on the London Stock Exchange saw a gradual climb in value of UK stocks as some good news starting shining through. Investors were particularly pleased by the 0.1 per cent upgrade for Q2 2010 economic growth. The FTSE 100 index finished up by 0.89 per cent or 45.72 points to close at 5,202.

Chris Bradshaw
shareprices.com - Friday, August 27, 2010

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This morning's news that the Office of National Statistics is revising up the second quarter GDP growth figures from 1.1 per cent to 1.2 per cent caused some cheering amongst investors. The FTSE 100 index climbed to an intraday high of 5188 but experienced a sharp drop at around 14:30, reaching an intraday low of 5,136.

However in mid-afternoon a revision to US growth data was released, showing the US economy grew at a rate of 1.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2010, not the 2.4 originally estimated. Yet this was less than investors expected and stocks soon recovered sharply.

Cable & Wireless Worldwide is the top stock for today. The telecommunications company gained 6.39 per cent but analysts say that movements are being exaggerated by thin trading characteristic of the summer season.

Some stocks performing well include African Barrick Gold and Aggreko, up 4.29 per cent and 3.01 per cent respectively. Energy stocks also did well on the back of higher crude oil prices.

Tullow oil however ended the day at the bottom of the list, down 3.8 per cent. Reports in Ugandan newspapers are saying that the Ugandan government is refusing to renew two important exploration licenses.

 

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