Reuters: Hot Stocks: Britain's FTSE hits 5-mth high, BP boosts energy stocks

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Britain's FTSE hits 5-mth high, BP boosts energy stocks Oct 29th 2013, 11:56 Share this Email Print Reprints Tue Oct 29, 2013 7:56am EDT * FTSE 100 rises 0.5 pct to 5-month high * BP surges after reporting strong results * Lloyds falls on PPI related charges By Atul Prakash LONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index rose for a fourth straight session to a new five-month high on Tuesday, with a rally in energy stocks following strong results from oil major BP offsetting downbeat news from banks. BP shares surged 4.7 percent to sit at the top of the FTSE 100's gainers list, after reporting forecast-beating profits, announcing a dividend hike and revealing plans to sell assets. The UK mining index, the best sectoral performer, climbed 1.9 percent to a three-month high, helping the FTSE 100 gain 35.10 points, or 0.5 percent, to 6,760.92 by 1137 GMT after rising up to 6,761.52, the highest since May. Of the total FTSE gains, BP alone added 15.5 points. "BP results show that the confidence in the company is back after a massive oil leak disaster some years ago. It seems there are not many unknowns now and that's quite reassuring for investors," said Tom Robertson, senior trader at Accendo Markets. "However, I am cautiously optimistic on the stock market as its near-term direction could be dictated by earnings results." A third of the way through the reporting season, 53 percent of companies have either met or beaten expectations, roughly in line with the previous three quarters, but 67 percent have missed revenue expectations, according to StarMine data. "Investors are still concerned about revenue growth, but of more concern right now is the outlook and whether companies see things improving in 2014," Craig Erlam, analyst at Alpari said. "It's now been five years since the financial crisis began and, as far as investors are concerned, it's about time we started to see things pick up again." The energy sector's strong performance was clouded by weaker financials, with Lloyds falling nearly 2 percent after announcing a further 750 million pound charge in the third quarter for the mis-selling of payment protection insurance. Sentiment in the sector was also weighed down by negative news related to European peers UBS and Deutsche Bank , with both taking unexpected hits for potential legal costs. Investors' will keep a close eye on the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting from Tuesday for hints about when the U.S. central bank could start trimming its massive stimulus programme, which have helped stocks to set multi-year highs. Markets expect the Fed to extend its $85 billion monthly bond buying scheme into next year while it assesses the impact of this month's government shutdown on growth. (Editing by Andrew Heavens) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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