LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) – Britain’s top share index set
fresh five-year highs on Tuesday, with miners boosted by good
results from Antofagasta and the market underpinned by low
volatility and a strong technical picture.

Antofagasta gained 3.1 percent in volume of 2.8
times its 90-day average after posting a rise in revenue and
hiking its dividend payout.

LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) – Britain’s top share index held
steady at five-year highs on Tuesday, with strength in leisure
firms underpinned by low volatility and a strong technical
picture suggesting that the index was poised to scale new peaks.

Travel and leisure firms were the top gainers,
rising 1 percent to help bolster the FTSE 100′s position
above 6,500. A strong finish on Monday saw the index close above
6,500 for the first time since December 2007.

LONDON (Reuters) – The top share index stalled around five-year highs on Monday, with heavily weighted banking stocks dragging on the FTSE despite ending last week with the strongest gains in a month.

Financials, which includes banks, insurers and asset managers, put the biggest drag on the index, bringing it down by nine points, enough to take it into negative territory.

LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) – Britain’s top share index
stalled around five-year highs on Monday, with heavily weighted
banking stocks dragging on the FTSE despite ending last week
with the strongest gains in a month.

Financials, which includes banks, insurers and asset
managers, put the biggest drag on the index, bringing it down by
nine points, enough to take it into negative territory.

LONDON, March 8 (Reuters) – European shares rose on Friday
as investors anticipated a strong U.S. jobs figure, with
unprecedented central bank monetary policy supporting equities
around multi-year highs.

Germany’s DAX briefly broke the 8,000 level for the
first time sine January 2008 on Friday while the rise in global
prices saw MSCI’s world share index hit its highest level since
June 2008 during the morning.

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s blue chip shares rose on Thursday but shed most early gains after central banks held firm on their monetary policy, confounding some investors’ hopes of further easing.

Cyclical stocks, which rise and fall with investor confidence about the economy, gained after heavily indebted Spain hit the top end of its fund-raising target in a bond sale on Thursday.

LONDON, March 7 (Reuters) – Britain’s top share index rose
on Thursday, extending gains after successful bond auctions in
the euro zone helped riskier sectors to post gains.

Cyclical stocks, which rise and fall with investor
confidence about the economy, gained after heavily indebted
Spain hit the top end of its fund-raising target in a bond sale
on Thursday, with yields at a French bond auction also falling.

LONDON, March 6 (Reuters) – Low-cost airline easyJet
and the London Stock Exchange will be promoted to
Britain’s top share index in the latest reshuffle, exchange
operator FTSE said on Wednesday.

Both stocks have added over 40 percent since the last
reshuffle of the FTSE 100, with easyJet buoyed by rising
passenger traffic and LSE by a pick-up in trading volumes.

LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) – Britain’s blue chip shares
surged on Tuesday to close above 6,400 for the first time in
over five years helped by solid company reports and supportive
central bank comments.

Financials and miners added the most points to the FTSE 100
, with results from heavyweight stocks in both sectors
meeting or beating expectations despite tricky trading
environments.