The FTSE 100 is heading for its third straight weekly gain, which would equal its best run of this year so far.
The index of London’s leading shares was more or less unchanged at 7,123.20 on a quiet Friday morning of trading. Still, over the past week, it has risen by about 90 points, or 1.3 per cent, its best weekly showing since the middle of June, boosted by strong corporate results and optimism over the recovery.
The more domestically focused FTSE 250 has enjoyed an even more impressive week, which culminated in another record close yesterday evening. The mid-cap index pulled back from that peak this morning though as it dipped 67.95 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 23,438.16, but it remains on course to end the week more than 2 per cent above where it started. That would be its best weekly return since April.
The London Stock Exchange Group was the top blue-chip riser this morning, as it put on 334p, or 4.5 per cent, to £78.02 on the back of its better-than-expected half-year earnings.
The reaction to Hikma’s interim results was less enthusiastic, with the generic drugmaker’s shares sliding 149p, or 5.6 per cent, to £24.93, leaving them at the bottom of the City leaderboard. Analysts lifted their forecasts following the numbers but investors had clearly hoped for more, with the stock having rallied up close to its highest ever earlier this week.
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Having added more than a quarter to its value yesterday, Cairn Energy shares rose another 13½p, or 8.5 per cent, to 172p this morning, their highest since May. Analysts at both Berenberg and Peel Hunt tipped the stock to clients amid growing optimism that the Indian government would soon release at least part of the $1.7 billion owed to Cairn as part of a long-running tax dispute.
Elsewhere, shares in Darktrace, the cybersecurity group, fell 45½p, or 6.6 per cent, to 639½p as a trio of big investors took some of their profits off the table following the cybersecurity group’s post-IPO surge.
The shares were launched as 250p apiece in early March and have since more than doubled. With their investments well in the money, KKR, Hoxton Ventures Fund and Balderton Capital dumped 23.15 million at a price of 620p each, netting them a combined £144 million.
