UK Mail shines as Royal Mail IPO looms

TRADERS may be getting excited about today’s expected Royal Mail flotation announcement, but it was rival UK Mail that delivered yesterday.

The parcel firm jumped 7.8 per cent or 40p to 555p after a trading update revealed that a surge in online shopping meant its first-quarter trading had been “well ahead” of expectations.

Royal Mail has also benefited from the growth in internet retailing, which is expected to be a factor in attracting investors to its initial public offering (IPO).

Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 index continued to set four-week highs during early trading, before closing up 63.01 points or just under 1 per cent at 6,513.08.

David Madden, a market analyst at IG Index, said: “The European Central Bank and the Bank of England have tried to neutralise the effects of Federal Reserve tapering with forward guidance and to a point it has worked, with equity markets in Europe surging higher on the loose liquidity premise.”

Royal Bank of Scotland was one of the biggest risers, up 5 per cent or 15.6p to 304.4p, after an upgrade by Goldman Sachs, who said a move to split the lender into a “good” bank and “bad” bank could benefit shares.

Fund manager Aberdeen Asset Management was in demand – up 13.7p at 399.6p – as investors looked to benefit from any further gains in equities.

Glasgow-based engineering giant Weir Group climbed 58p to 2,162p after Morgan Stanley analysts moved their rating on the stock to “equal weight” from “under-weight”.

Blur Group, the procurement website launched by Philip Letts, whose family used to own the eponymous Dalkeith-based diary publisher, jumped 20 per cent or 40p to 242.5p after it said its new clients included yogurt-maker Danone.

NEW YORK: Wall Street rose for the fourth session in a row last night as US investors bet that companies will be able to surpass the low bar set for earnings season, leaving room for better-than-expected results that could fuel the rally further.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 75.88 points, or 0.50 per cent, at 15,300.57 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 11.86 points, or 0.72 per cent, at 1,652.32. The Nasdaq Composite Index ended up 19.43 points, or 0.56 per cent, at 3,504.26.