Strong blue-chip profits and miners keep FTSE 100 up
A combination of strong profit gains for blue-chips and an improvement in mining stocks aided by firmer metal prices has encouraged a second consecutive day of growth for the UK’s top index.
Rob Hull
shareprices.com - Thursday, May 13, 2010
With concerns over the euro debt reducing following Spain and Portugal’s deficit-trimming strategy announcements, the FTSE 100 closed at 5,424.89 with a gain of 0.77 per cent or 41.44 points.
Confidence-inspiring results from three major blue chips had a positive influence of investors today.
BT Group (LON:BT.A) was the outstanding stock after it confirmed it had reversed last year’s loss with a full-year profit of £1bn with big gains coming from the broadband sector of the group’s business.
And, despite a two per cent decline in revenues, the group said it expected to return to growth in 2012/13.
The shares in the telecommunications and media company rocketed to the top of the FTSE 100 gainers, reaching a high for the day of 135.80p putting the share price up by 15.30p, the equivalent of 12.7 per cent.
Investment and venture capitalist group 3i (LON:III) also had big share price gains, climbing as much as 8.39 per cent to a day-topping price of 290.70p, thanks to the firm announcing its portfolio value had climbed 15 per cent last year.
And it was also a strong day on the stock exchange for J Sainsbury (LON:SBRY) which boasted sales and profit gains to put its shares up by as much as 4.33 per cent in this morning’s trading.
The mining sector also posted positive results on the LSE, too.
Fresnillo (LON:FRES), BHP Bilton (LON:BLT) and Eurasian Natural Resources (LON:ENRC) all posted share price gains in the region of three per cent.
Banks fell on the back of a focus on the new coalition government’s plans to reduce the nation’s deficit in the first cabinet meeting today and a poor first-quarter performance from French lender, Credit Agricole.
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