FTSE hits ten straight month of gains

The FTSE 100 closed up 24.18 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 6,411.74, with financial stocks – including asset managers, banks and insurers – adding seven points to the index as they rallied from recent three-month lows.

Alastair McCaig, analyst at IG Index, said: “We’re not only at the end of the month but we’re at the end of the quarter as well, and with that in mind, the fact that FTSE is up as much as this is pretty impressive.

“Equity markets have been in the last couple of months pretty perky, and it has very much been a mentality where people are buying on the dip.”

Chemicals manufacturer Johnson Matthey was one of the biggest risers in the FTSE 100, climbing 50p to 2,300p after announcing a deal to buy catalyst firm Formox for £107 million.

National Grid was up 14p to 765p in the blue chip index after updating on strong trading and announcing a new dividend policy which tracks inflation.

Tate & Lyle led gains as investors gave their thumbs up to the firm’s forecasts for modest progress this year, sending the stock up 25p to 850p.

Listed housebuilders were given a boost by JPMorgan Cazenove after it upgraded the sector in light of Chancellor George Osborne’s plans to boost the housing market, announced last week. The brokerage said the mortgage guarantee and loan plans “completely surpassed” its expectations, pushing shares in Bellway up 57p to 1,297p.

Larger peer Persimmon was up 30p at 1,069p, Taylor Wimpey gained 2.7p to 90.9p and Bovis Homes was up 10.5p to 71.5p.

NEW YORK: The S&P 500 set a record closing high last night – surpassing its previous record set in October 2007 – to finish a fifth consecutive month of gains to extend a four-year long rally.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 52.38 points, or 0.36 per cent, to end at 14,578.54 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 6.33 points, or 0.41 per cent, finishing at 1,569.18.

The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 11.00 points, or 0.34 per cent, to close at 3,267.52.