FTSE hits high on Olympic bid win

In London on Wednesday, the FTSE 100 was up 0.8 percent to 5,229.6, the fourth day in a row that the index reached a new 3-year high.

The FTSE 250 advanced by 1.2 percent to reach its own all-time high of 7,487.9. A strong 3.9 billion shares were traded.

A portion of the gains in London came on the news that the International Olympic Committee had awarded the 2012 Olympic Games to London.

Companies from a variety of sectors stand to benefit from the games. Among those seeing advances today were WS Atkins, the UK’s biggest engineering consultancy, which was up 4.8 percent to 716p.

Senco rose by 2.1 percent to 259 ¼p, Amec advanced 0.9 percent to 331p, and Carillion rose 5 percent to 284 p.

Other gainers included Balfour Beatty, which was up 5.2 percent to 347.25p, building materials group Hanson, which added 2.1 percent to 545 ½p, and Severfield-Rowen, which advanced by 9 percent to 707p.

Caterer Compass Group gained 2.42 percent to 244p, while Workspace was up by 4.3 percent to 248 ¾p.

Meanwhile, equities markets in the eurozone were helped by gains in the oil and gas sectors as crude oil prices were up again and Credit Suisse First Boston and Merrill Lynch both boosted their outlook for oil stocks.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.6 percent on the day to 1,157.21, a new 3-year high. In the oil and gas sectors, Total gained 2.2 percent to €202.30, Repsol YPF rose by 2.1 percent to €22.41, and Eni was up 2.2 percent to €22.46. Neste Oil added 2.2 percent to €23.50, Statoil gained 2.1 percent to NKr143.50, and Norsk Hydro rose to NKr638, an advance of 4.2 percent.

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