Date: Thursday 19 Dec 2013
LONDON (ShareCast) - Life insurers were almost universally higher after rating agency Fitch gave an encouraging bill of health on US counterparts for 2014. The sector was up 2.3 per cent on the day.
Insurance peers Aviva, Legal & General, Old Mutual, Phoenix, Prudential, St James's Place and Standard Life were all higher in afternoon trade.
Better-than-expected figures from cruise ship operator Carnival tugged the travel & leisure sector higher.
President and Chief Executive Officer Arnold Donald said while net revenue yields for 2014 were expected to be down this would only be "slight" and that the company was "catching up on booking volumes" and "gaining momentum" as it entered 2014.
Top performing sectors so far today
Life Insurance 6,696.13 +2.28%
Travel & Leisure 7,109.83 +2.18%
Real Estate Investment Trusts 2,501.72 +2.13%
Financial Services 7,602.28 +2.04%
Health Care Equipment & Services 4,787.40 +1.94%
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