London Report: Putin’s Crimea comments help to calm FTSE
THE FTSE yesterday rose after being bolstered by apparently conciliatory comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin on a visit to Crimea, as well as expectations for a continuation of ultra-loose monetary policy.
On a trip to Crimea, the Ukrainian region annexed by Russia in March, Putin said his country would stand up for itself but not at the cost of confrontation with the outside world.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up 28.58 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 6,685.26 points.
Investors were betting that the continuation of loose monetary policies would help boost equities.
But weak UK wage data on Wednesday prompted the market to push back its expectations for when the Bank of England would lift interest rates.
TUI Travel advanced 2.2 per cent to 369.70p in brisk trade after TUI AG’s chief executive said the German company’s plans for a merger with the London-listed unit were on track.
Shares of cruise operator Carnival also rose, by 0.4 per cent to 2,234p
Property company British Land also notched up good gains, rising 2.5 per cent to close on 724.50p, after Bank of America Merrill Lynch raised its rating on the stock to “buy” from “neutral”.
Shares in the construction firm Carillion jumped more than eight per cent to 346.80p after it renewed its bid for rival Balfour Beatty. Shares in Balfour Beatty rose 1.5 per cent to 240.10p.
Also advancing were shares of banking firm HSBC and Royal Mail by 2.1 per cent (651.40p) and 1.7 per cent, (443.60p) respectively.
But shares in mining and services giant Glencore fell 1.3 per cent to 360.65p following a downgrade to “neutral” from outperform at Credit Suisse, which cited fading momentum and valuation as reason for the move.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 Index were Petrofac up 3.16 per cent at 1,144p, Johnson Matthey up 2.26 per cent at 3,082p and Land Securities up 2.25 per cent at 1,090p.
Ophir Energy was up 6.65 per cent and closed on 211.70p, while Millennium & Copthorne Hotels was up 5.52 per cent and closed on 602.50p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 Index were Admiral down 2.99 per cent at 1,330p, G4S down 2.52 per cent at 266.60p, Kingfisher down 1.86 per cent at 295.70p and Rio Tinto down 1.39 per cent at 3,376p.