Highest FTSE Close since June 2008

London equities lacked strength and direction for most of the day on Wednesday, but found both late in the day after trade data from China revealed that exports and exports rose by 45.7% and 44%, respectively, in February compared with the same month last year and a bright start on Wall Street. The FTSE 100 Index closed up 38.27 points, or 0.7%, to 5,640.27, its highest closing level for 20 months.

Dominic Turner
shareprices.com - Wednesday, March 10, 2010

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Mining stocks added most points to the index as the price of copper rose on hopes of global economic recovery. Silver miner Fresnillo, up 27p, or 3.12%, at 867p, was the best performer in the sector, but there were also healthy gains for Xstrata, up 31.5p, or 2.67%, at 1,210.5p, Vedanta Resources, up 64p, or 2.41%, at 2,725p and Lonmin, up 44p, or 2.25% at 1,996p.

News of reduced annual losses at Northern Rock helped the share prices of the part-nationalised lenders Royal bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group, which closed up 1.42p, or 3.36%, at 40.4p and up 0.82p, or 1.54%, at 54p, respectively and an year-on-year increase in underlying profit, from £154 million to £291million, lifted insurer Standard Life 1.8p, or 0.87%, to 208.3p at the close.

Talks between management of British Airways (BA) and Unite union officials continued on Wednesday, in an effort to avert strike action by cabin crew and BA further offered – along with its alliance partners, American Airlines and Iberia Airlines – to surrender some of its transatlantic take-off and landing slots at Heathrow and Gatwick airports in return for approval from the European Commission. BA's share price closed up 8.2p, or 3.67%, at 231.4p.

 

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