At the close of business, the FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:.FTSE) was up 49.24 points at 5,383.45 with the FTSE250 up 210.06 points at 10,186.92 and the FTSE Smallcaps 24.49 points better at 2,884.54. Headline shares ended with solid gains as confidence grew as the new UK government make-up was revealed, with banks facing pressure but offset by a strong performance from the leisure industry. US stocks made solid gains in late morning trade, despite news of a widening trade deficit, with a more settled day in Europe giving investors confidence. Approaching the close in London, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 79 points at 10,827, the S&P500 rose 7 points at 1,163 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 27 points at 2,402.
LONDON MARKETS
Markets in London improved as the day progressed when some details of the opening gambit of the coalition government in the UK were laid out in a joint press conference. A strong morning on Wall Street also helped sentiment.
The part-nationalised banks remained under pressure, with Lloyds down 0.79p at 59.51p and Royal Bank Of Scotland Group Plc (LON:RBS) the biggest casualty of the session, 1.6p lower at 48.4p. However, Barclays (LON:BARC) ticked up 3.4p at 328.8p, helped by an upgrade to add from hold at Oriel, and HSBC added 5.3p at 666.7p.
Mining shares were generally higher, with only BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) failing to make gains, down 4.5p at 1,944p and 3.5p at 3.292p, respectively. Randgold Resources (LON:RRS)> led the sector, adding 195p at 6,065p as the price of gold hovered around $1,240 an ounce.
Among the oil producers, BP (LON:BP.) continued to suffer fall-out from its oil spillage problems, easing a further 3.9p at 541.6p. Tullow Oil Plc (LON:TLW) provided a welcome boost for the sector, up 54p at 1,142p, after saying it has continued to perform strongly in 2010 and believes the outlook for the year is positive.
Capita Group (LON:CPI) found friends, up 37.5p at 812.5p, on hopes that a new government will give a boost to outsourcing projects. Global caterer Compass Group (LON:CPG) was a major gainer, ahead 28p at 557.5p after it said revenue has grown by 2.6% in the six months to end-March, and it has seen a slight acceleration in the rate of new business wins. Holiday operators were the…
