Latest:

07:02 Hunt committed to Wolves
07:02 Foden promises Tindall fitting farewell
07:01 Dowson handed England captaincy
07:01 Foden fired up for Tindall farewell
07:01 London Welsh to step up promotion fight
07:01 Banned Barton faces club investigation
07:01 Taylor won't defend Barton's actions
07:00 City title fun is over - Kidd

Global rise in markets points to worldwide recovery

Thursday, 15 October 2009

Further evidence of a global economic recovery saw London's benchmark share index soar to a 13-month high, while traders in New York cheered the Dow Jones passing the 10,000 mark for the first time in a year.

The FTSE 100 Index rose another 2% yesterday as stocks leapt after better-than-expected results in the US and positive economic signs in the UK and overseas.

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average — the index of leading US stocks — broke into five figures for the first time since October 2008 before falling back, prompting whooping and clapping on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange

The bumper day in the markets was helped along by positive results from JP Morgan Chase, which kicked off the US bank reporting season with a 581% leap in profits.

In the UK, recovery hopes were further fuelled by jobless figures that showed the rise in unemployment is slowing.

Philip Gillett, sales trader at IG Index, said: “Global markets are largely continuing their upward journey — even the UK's latest unemployment figures hint at a tentative recovery.”

“For the rest of this week, the US earnings season will be watched closely for further pointers towards the strength of global economic recovery,” he added.

Oil prices also continued a five-day rally yesterday, setting a new high for the year above $75 a barrel.

The US dollar fell to its lowest rate against the European single currency since August 2008, with a euro worth $1.49 and analysts expect it to pass $1.50 in coming weeks.