FTSE 100 close: BT Group, Rolls-Royce up
The Footsie resumed its upward march in style today on a slew of mixed company news, including good figures from BS
The FTSE 100 index was 84.08 points to the good at 4,631.61. The index has gained 32% since hitting a six-year low in March, but is still down 2.6% this year.
On Wall Street, shares surged in early trading on the back of positive earnings reports for a number of big-name companies. The Dow Jones jumped more than 133.5 points to 9,204.3.
James Hughes, market analyst at CMC Markets, says the next target is the 2009 high of 4,675: 'Strength over the next couple of days could see us push through that level and with US markets well in to positive territory despite an increase in weekly jobless claims the strength looks is odds on to continue.
'But again we have to mention the risk of profit taking as the market has rallied heavily. Sooner or later a sell-off will begin and the severity of this will be all important in deciding a true value for these equity markets.
'As we approach the highs for the year we are also on course for the highest close since November 2008. The target for this is 4639.5, a close above this level will further boost sentiment and lead traders and investors to believe that this market has many more legs left in it.'
BT Group, with a 12.6% rise of 14.2p to 126.9p, was the top FTSE 100 gainer, after it posted a better-than-expected 3% fall in first-quarter earnings. The telecoms giant said it was on track to deliver cost reductions after a 'solid' start to the year.
Cazenove greeted the news by raising its rating on BT shares to 'in-line' from 'underperform'.
It was followed not far behind by engineering giant Rolls-Royce, which climbed 32.75p to 408p, as it reiterated its profits guidance for the financial year and boasted a record £57.5bn order book.
Fellow defence group BAE Systems however, fell 16p to 312p after it said its pension deficit had risen by £1bn to £3.1bn by the end of June, offsetting a sharp rise in first-half earnings and a bullish outlook.
BSkyB was another top gainer, up 27p to 546p thanks to news of a 4% rise in underlying annual earnings and continued improvement in net customer additions, up 35% year-on-year to 124,000 in the fourth quarter.
There were more results from drugs giant AstraZeneca, which cheered 29.5p to 2832.5p after it benefited from the withdrawal of generic competitors and upgraded its earnings forecasts for the year.
Following on from BP on Tuesday and BG Group on Wednesday, Royal Dutch Shell results gave some good news on cost-cutting as it posted a 70% fall in its second-quarter net profit, as oil prices and refining margins tumbled.
'Blow-out numbers considering the environment. This is a big positive for Shell, it looks like the gas and power division is very good versus expectations,' said Jason Kenney at ING.
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' shares, however, were 3p down at 1,594p. BP meanwhile rose 2.2p to 506.2p, and BG Group lost 7p at 1,046p.
Platinum miner Lonmin was a strong performer, up 105p to 1,360p in early trading as Citigroup raised its rating to 'buy' from 'hold'.
Kazakh miner Kazakhmys rose 45.5p to 833.5p after it posted an 8% rise in first-half copper cathode output and said although second-half output would be lower the company was on track to meet its full year target.
Randgold Resources rallied 49p to 3,679p after saying its offering of 5m shares had been priced at 3,635p per ordinary share.
Reed Elsevier was the biggest blue-chip faller, 60.25p to 420p, after the Anglo-Dutch publisher accompanied first-half results with plans to raise cash through a share placing to reduce debts.
British Gas firm Centrica was another faller, down 6.75p to 224.25p, after half-year profits declined 5% to £936m.
In the FTSE 250 Index, Travis Perkins jumped 95p to 795p as it posted a 27% drop in half-year profits but reported signs that some of its markets were beginning to stabilise.
Elsewhere, newspaper group Trinity Mirror shares rose 12.6% - 9p to 80.5p - after it reported sharply slowing advertising revenue declines in the six months to June 28.
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