London’s blue chip share index maintained its new year rally today despite gloomy figures showing the UK economy is halfway to an unprecedented triple dip recession.
The FTSE 100 Index closed up 19.5 points at 6,284.5 – its highest level since May 2008.
Improvements by oil giant Royal Dutch Shell, which climbed 30p to 22263.5p, and Vodafone – up 1.6p to 170.3p – boosted the wider index.
TUI Travel rose 11.1p to 293.1p, Aberdeen Asset Management lifted 9.9p to 415.4p, Sage Group added 7.6p to 325.7p and Polymetal International rose 26p to £11.16p.
Footsie fallers included Eurasian Natural Resources down 8.1p to 331.1p, Randgold Resources off £1.45 at £60.20, Evraz 6.9p lower at £3 and Kazakhmys down 16.5p to 753.5p.
In the FTSE 250 Index, which has outperformed its blue-chip rival over the past year, easyJet was one of the biggest risers as analysts continued to cheer the company’s better-than-expected winter trading update on Thursday. Shares rose by another 5% yesterday, a gain of 46.5p to £9.45.
Pub group Enterprise Inns led the second tier risers board – up 7%, or 6.8p to 101.8p – ahead of its trading update yesterday.
Steven McKay, of investment manager and financial planning specialist Brewin Dolphin in Aberdeen, highlighted Hunting adding 1.13% to £8.51, Standard Life rising 0.85% to 345.7p and Weir Group up 0.54% at £20.47.
Faroe Petroleum slid 1.75% to 139.875p, Cairn Energy gave up 1.29% at 291.9p and BP shed 0.51% to 465.3p.
