The market roared today boosting the value of shares by £19bn as the City took its cue from a surge in the Far East. Major gains in Tokyo and Honk Kong rekindled traders’ passion for buying and fuelled hopes of an end to market turmoil in Asia.
The FTSE soared 111.6 points to 4853.4 within 45 minutes after the Nikkei took back 1,200 points, or 8%, in a blockbusting session with the Hang Seng following suit and advancing nearly 5%.
Once again Far East-linked stocks were a focus of attention as HSBC soared 62p to £14.78, Fleming Japan climbed 10p to 139p and Standard Chartered was up 26p to 648p.
British Airways revealed plans to launch a new low-fare airline in Europe next year and be based at London Stansted creating more than 150 jobs.Shares in airport operator BAA rose 7p to 501p and BA advanced 19p to 568p.Media group EMAP published a higher-than-expected interim profit of £64.5m, up from £50.6m the same time last year.The group also revealed that it had bought Macmillan Magazine’s healthservices unit and shares rose 4p to 906p although it warned of a slowdown in growth in the second half.
Dairy foods group Unigate reported a higher pre-tax interim profit of £66.4m, which was a 9.6% rise from the figure at the same time last year. It said it continued to seek opportunities in both the food and distribution arms helping shares gain 5p to 600p.
Dealers warmed to a 35% rise in Firstbus’ interim profits which rose to £32.5m and pushed stock 1p to 236. Electronics distributor Diploma saw its full-year profits slip 8% to £21.6m and shares lost 8p to fall to 237p as it said its prospects were mixed.
Ahead of results today, British Steel rose 2p to 147p, while steel trader Adam & Harvey saw shares dive 12p to 327p after it took a hit from the strong pound and profits were down for the first six months.
PA News 17/11/97
