FTSE 100 reaches five and a half year high
The recent FTSE 100 rally ploughed through its seventh consecutive day today on the back of actions taken by central banks across the globe — or in the case of the Bank of England, the lack of action taken. The london based index crossed the 6600 mark, heights which is as hit seen since October of 2007. At the close of play the FTSE 100 rested at 6624.98, representing an advance of 0.5 percent.
The FTSE is not alone when it comes to recent rallies, with the US markets also making huge strides over the last week. Until the bell in New York on Thursday, the S&P 500 had been on a five day rally, taking it to record highs. The US index has made gains of 14 percent this calendar year, while the FTSE has advanced by 12 percent. Additionally, the Nikkei 225 has hit an almost six year high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Dax have both been performing well.
Shire was one of the leaders of the day, adding 85p to their stock price, a rise of 4.4 percent, after winning a court battle in the US for the patent of one of their products against Actavis. TUI Travel saw gains of 6.3p after raising their forecasted profit by 10 percent in the back of better than expected results for the companies UK and Scandinavian divisions. The news was not all positive however as they also reported losses of £289m for the first half of 2013, which was expected.
BT was perhaps the most notable advance of the day, as the telecommunication giant advanced by 33.8p, or 12.3 percent. The company announced better than expected results for the year, with profits reaching £6.2bn, up by £120m on last year.
The days standout loser was not amongst the large caps. Centamin, a constituent of the FTSE 250, fell by 17 percent after legal reports on one of its gold mines in Egypt were less than positive. In October of last year the company were challenged on the legality of their operation in Sukari, Egypt and the state commissioner’s office has now recommended that the operation be closed. Centamin has discarded the report as they feel it doesn’t address the issues which make up their case for appeal.
Leon Cooperman gave Monitise an advance of almost 12 percent on a plate after suggesting it as a buy. The mobile payment processor was recommended by the US hedge fund manager after the market closed on Thursday, which promoted a rally by the tech stock throughout most of the day.
