Heavyweight gains helped the London market surge today, offsetting a grim performance from mobile phone giant Vodafone.
The group slumped nearly 6% during morning trading as more than 420m Vodafone shares changed hands.
Investors were rattled by lower projected earnings for wireless sales and subscriber numbers in Germany and Italy, and the stock continued its recent depressing run to lose 6p at 102.5p.
Rival mmO2 was also pulled down, easing 0.5p at 47p, but the falls were not mirrored in the wider market.
Instead, the FTSE 100 Index surged above 5200 after putting on 58.1 at 5232.3 by mid-morning.
Financial stocks were leading the way. Banks have been on the up recently, as the ongoing global recovery boosts the sector’s outlook.
Lloyds TSB was up 21p at 821.5p, Barclays gained 15p at 628p and Royal Bank of Scotland was ahead 61p at £20.69. HBOS, which today said that house prices had continued to rise in April, surged 18p at 849.5p.
Also adding support were BP and Shell, which soared 15.5p at 593p and 14p at 512p respectively. Both were benefiting from a rally in crude oil prices, which lifted on renewed tension in the Middle East.
Mining stocks pushing ahead included Anglo American, which last night said it was splashing out £888.2m on a Chilean copper firm.
Anglo gained 48p at £11.21 today while BHP Billiton put on 13.5p at 379.5p and Rio Tinto added 40p at £12.65.
Outside the FTSE 100, retailer JD Sports leapt 24p at 309.5p after agreeing to buy rival Blacks Leisure’s sport and fashion division in a £53.2m deal. The acquisition will more than double the size of JD Sports.
Blacks’ shares also surged, gaining 18.5p at 223.5p. The unit has been rocked by tough conditions recently, and the deal means Blacks will quit the competitive sportswear market.
EGi News 03/05/02
