FTSE at 21 month high as Lloyds Banking Group surprises
Today, edging up 0.1 per cent or 7.51 points, the FTSE 100 finished at 5650.13 - its highest level since June 2008 as Lloyds Banking Group indicated a return to profit in 2010. Banks were the biggest gainers for the day, riding the announcement from Lloyds to counter selling amongst miners. Lloyds was the top performer, up 8.2 per cent followed by the Royal Bank of Scotland Group up 4.76 per cent.
Chris Bradshaw
shareprices.com - Friday, March 19, 2010
An unscheduled trading update from Lloyds Banking Group stated an expectation that 2010 will show a return to profit on a combined business basis, as opposed to severe losses across the past two years - including a loss of £6.3bn in 2009. Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette and Woods said that investors expected a loss of up to £300m for 2010 which makes the trading statement somewhat of a surprise, in contrast to the disappointment following annual results a month ago.
Markets showed concern about slower global growth by dragging mining stocks lower as tighter fiscal policy appears more likely with India taking steps to avoid double digit inflation. The top losers on the FTSE 100 were dominated by miners with Vedanta Resources, Randgold Resources, Cairn Energy and Anglo American down between 2.5 and 3.1 per cent.
Today's marginal gain of 0.1% showed that investors are reluctant to push prices much higher. The Wednesday budget announcement is closely watched and, according to Philip Gillett, sales trader at IG index, there is unlikely to be much movement before then.
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