ECB bond-buying programme sends indices soaring up – London Report
THE EUROPEAN Central Bank’s €1.14 trillion bond-buying programme sent UK shares to their highest level for four months yesterday.
The FTSE 100 finished up 68.59 points, or 1.02 per cent, at 6,796.63, its highest since 19 September last year.
Among the risers Royal Mail gained 3.55 per cent to 445.80p after a good Christmas performance from its parcels business.
Tullow Oil added about one per cent to 388.30p after reasonable results from exploration wells in Kenya, with exploration director Angus McCoss calling the news “highly encouraging.” RSA Insurance rose 3.32 per cent to 466.80p as Credit Suisse upgraded its recommendation from “neutral” to “outperform”.
But Primark-owner Associated British Foods dipped 0.43 per cent to 2,985p after last week’s update which showed that its sugar division was encountering problems.
Lower down the market, a hefty profit warning from Oxford Instruments saw its shares close a whopping 27.73 per cent lower at 795p.