Markets: Big names lead the way as FTSE rises

IMPRESSIVE results from a number of big name companies helped London’s leading shares index make progress in a choppy day’s trading. The FTSE 100 Index rose 29.83 points to 5,748.72 yesterday, with shares in Shell, Unilever and Whitbread pushing higher after pleasing results.

Angus Campbell, head of market analysis at Capital Spreads, said indecision reigned in a volatile session that indicated investors are still unsure whether good corporate earnings are enough to discount the overriding storm clouds that still shroud the economic picture.

“It was the corporate data that won the day, with some big household names beating estimates which has been a theme of this earning season,” he said.

Shell reported a quarterly profits haul of $7.66 billion (£4.75bn), up 11 per cent on a year ago and about 10 per cent ahead of the consensus market forecast. Shares were up more than 3 per cent, or 67.5p, at 2,195.5p, while BP benefited ahead of its own figures next week, rising 12p to 444.3p.

Hellmann’s and Knorr owner Unilever added 3 per cent or 56p to 2,135p after first-quarter underlying sales rose by a bigger-than-expected 8.4 per cent.

And there was a rise of 6 per cent for Whitbread after the Costa coffee and Premier Inn business announced it grew full-year profits by 11 per cent to £320.1 million. Shares were up 112p to 1,921p as chief executive Andy Harrison said the group was on track to meet “growth milestones”.

But pharmaceuticals firm AstraZeneca blamed a “loss of exclusivity” on its products for a 38 per cent decline in first quarter pre-tax profits to $2.1bn. Shares were off about 6 per cent or 174.5p at 2,666.5p as it scaled back profit forecasts.

New York: Wall Street rose for a third session last night after upbeat US housing data and stronger-than-expected results from companies, including Lockheed Martin, overshadowed some high-profile earnings misses.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 113.90 points, or 0.87 per cent, to end at 13,204.62 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 9.29 points, or 0.67 per cent, to finish at 1,399.98. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 20.98 points, or 0.69 per cent, to close at 3,050.61.