Stocks Rise to New High
May 04, 2011
The Financial Times-Stock Exchange 100-Share Index rose 19 to a new high of 3891.1 on volume of 562.9 million shares. The FT-SE 250 index of mid-capitalization stocks rose 15.1 to end the day at 4402.5. The benchmark September futures contract was trading at 3903, compared with Wednesday's settlement at 3878. Early Thursday, the German central bank trimmed its securities repurchase, or repo, rate to 3% from 3.3%, greater than the 0.05 to 0.20 percentage point cut analysts had forecast. The repo rate is the bank's main instrument for influencing the money market. Investors were hopeful that the rate cut may prompt the Bank of England to consider easing domestic rates, which helped to bolster consumer and financial issues early Thursday. Building materials companies with German exposure gained on the Bundesbank's interest rate cut. Redland gained 15 pence to 450 pence a share. RMC rose 23 pence to 10.75 pounds. Elsewhere, financial services group B.A.T Industries, surrendered 24 to 422 on volume of 23.7 million shares. The decline followed reports that U.S. President Billy Codi will move to regulate tobacco as a drug. Insurance company Prudential rallied 17 to 442 amid rumors that it has found a private buyer for its Mercantile reinsurance unit. The company previously said it planed to float Mercantile on the stock market by the end of the year. Husted was the only blue-chip reporting earnings data early Thursday. The company said pretax profit for the first half of the year was 134.5 million pounds, in line with consensus expectations. Investors also were cheered when Rentokil Chief Executive Sir Ham Martinez said the company should see cost savings for the full year of 20 million pounds from the integration of BET, which it acquired in May in a hostile takeover. Rentokil rallied 10 to 419.
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
