9
Sep
FTSE breaks through 5,000 level
Leading UK shares have risen to their highest level for almost a
year, with the FTSE index breaking through the 5,000 level.
Shares have risen this week on the back of merger activity, with
US Kraft Foods making a £10.2bn bid for UK chocolate maker
Cadbury.
This has encouraged investors to think that risk appetite has
returned to markets and that the recession is over.
Rising commodity prices have also helped to boost stocks.
The index closed up 57 points, or 1.2%, at 5004.30. It has not
been this high since October last year.
Upbeat data
The FTSE has been rising since March, with confidence steadily
building that the UK economy will soon come out of recession.
Upbeat economic data released this week has helped to convince
many investors that recovery is already underway.
On Tuesday, the National Institute of Economic and Social
Research said the economy grew 0.2% in the three months to August.
In its eyes, therefore, the UK recession is officially over,
although it did warn that "normal economic conditions" had not
returned.
On the same day, figures also showed UK manufacturing output
rising at its fastest rate in 18 months in July.
Earlier on Wednesday, a comprehensive survey of recruitment
agencies also found that UK jobs market was starting to show signs
of recovery.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk/news Wednesday 9th
September 2009