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FTSE 100 hits record high, trading above 8,000 points
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Centrica, StanChart, Relx jump on upbeat results
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Vodafone rises on report of looking at options for Africa unit
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FTSE 100 up 0.3%, FTSE 250 adds 0.4%
(Updates prices, adds comments and details)
By Shashwat Chauhan
Feb 16 (Reuters) - UK's FTSE 100 rose to a record high
on Thursday, underpinned by corporate earnings from Centrica and
Standard Chartered, while higher commodity prices drove up
heavyweight miners.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 gained 0.3%, trading
comfortably above the 8,000-point mark it had breached in the
previous session.
The exporter-heavy FTSE has had a stellar start to the
year as positive corporate earnings and rising commodity prices
supported the index.
Shares of Centrica jumped to top the FTSE 100, adding 4.2%, after the British gas owner's annual profit more than tripled and as it announced an extension of its share buyback programme. Standard Chartered rose 1.8% after the lender reported a 28% rise in annual pretax profit and unveiled a $1 billion share buyback programme. "Standard Chartered had very strong earnings, (because of)its exposure to emerging markets and a global economy that is proving a lot more resilient than many of us had feared a few months ago," said Patrick Armstrong, chief investment officer at Plurimi Wealth. Information and analytics company Relx gained 3.1% after saying it was using generative AI to supercharge its legal, health and science products as it forecast another year of strong growth in 2023. Industrial metal miners rose 0.8% as metal prices were supported by hopes for a demand recovery in top consumer China. Shares of Vodafone rose 3.3% on a report the telecom company is exploring options for its African unit Vodacom. The more domestically focussed FTSE 250 midcaps rose 0.4%, aided by a jump in Bank of Georgia Group , which surged 9.9% on announcing an extension of its share buyback programme. Capping gains on the midcap index were losses in pharmaceutical company Indivior , which tumbled 11.4% after reporting its full-year results. Later in the day, Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill will be speaking on the UK economy, while investor focus will also be on weekly U.S. jobless claims print. (Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
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