Headline shares ended with strong gains, driven by a largely positive set of company earning news, although headliner Tesco (LON:TSCO) dipped, with investors concerned over the cost of expansion plans. At the close of business, the FTSE100 was up 55.78 points at 5,783.69 with the FTSE250 ahead 96.73 points at 10,487.59 and the FTSE Smallcaps 10.74 points better at 2,967.05. US stocks were ahead in late morning trade after better-than-expected earnings news from Goldman Sachs. Approaching the close in London, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 26 points at 11,118, the S&P500 rose 7 points at 1,205 and the Nasdaq Composite added 12 points at 2,492.

LONDON MARKETS

News that UK inflation rose more than expected in March had little or no negative impact on trade in London. Action during the day was driven by a flurry of company earnings reports, with Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) jumping to the top of the leaderboard, up 56.5p at 1,015p, after the Primark owner reported operating profit was up 29% to £336m and profit before tax up 80% to £320m in the half-year to end-February. The group raised its dividend 10%. Global brewer Sabmiller (LON:SAB) also made strong progress, up 86p at 1,996p, after reporting organic basis lager volumes for the year to end-March were level with the prior year, beating expectations.

Banking issues were buoyed by news of soaring profits at US giant Goldman Sachs. Royal Bank Of Scotland Group Plc (LON:RBS) led the way, up 2.3p at 52.7p, with Barclays (LON:BARC) gaining 2.3p at 372.75p and Lloyds ahead 1.8p at 67.22p. Insurers made firm progress, with Legal & General the leading light, up 2.45p at 92.55p. Prudential (LON:PRU) gained 4.5p at 587.5p and Aviva (LON:AV.) rallied 8.9p at 387p. British Airways (LON:BAY) perked up 2.2p at 233.9p on signs of positive movement on the Volcanic ash fallout front, although the majority of flights remain grounded. No-frills peer Easyjet (LON:EZJ) gained 6.5p at 479.5p.

Educational publisher Reed Elsevier (LON:REL) ticked up 6.5p at 533p on confirming it should report only a modest reduction in adjusted operating margin in 2010 due to a weak revenue environment.

A firming of commodity prices gave resources stocks a boost. Among the miners, ENRC was pick of the crop, improving 29p at 1,220p, while BHP Billiton (LON:BLT)…

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