FTSE Enjoys Best Run in Four Years

July 22, 2009 by admin
Filed under: Business News

The FTSE 100 rose for a seventh consecutive day, marking the longest run of gains in four years after a flurry of better-than-expected news from companies around the world.
The index of the UK’s biggest companies closed up 37.55, or 0.9%, at 4481.17. it is now 8.7% higher than when the run of increases began on July 13 making it the FTSE 100’s best run ever since July 2005. in the UK, supermarket chain WM Morrison jumped the most, up by 8.2% at 274p, after telling shareholders that its results will beat City forecasts as more Britons seek trade down to cut food bills. Morrison’s positive news also pulled rival Sainsbury’s 3% higher.
Sentiment has also been buoyed by a series of results from US companies that topped Wall Street analysts’ expectations. Caterpillar, the world’s biggest maker of construction equipment, increased its profit forecasts and cited a modest increase in demand.
The FTSE has risen by 28%ever since its low for the year on March 3, but experts are divided over whether the rally can be sustained.
In the US, the Dow Jones was also slightly up, rising by 0.4% at 8852 in lunchtime trading. The CAC 40 in Paris and DAX in Frankfurt also closed up, by 1% and 1.3% respectively.

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