London trade volume improves
by Elaine Frei
The FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 both saw gains on Friday and for the entire week, but both were lower for the second quarter of the year. The 100 ended the day 0.7 percent higher to 5,833.4. This meant a gain of 2.5 percent this week, but still left it 2.2 percent lower in the second quarter of 2006. The 250 ended the day up by 1.3 percent to 9,422.7, also a 2.5 percent gain for the week. It dropped 4.3 percent during the quarter, however. Trade volumes on the day were higher than they have been, with more than 3 billion shares trading hands.
Miners were up as the news of another interest rate hike in the United States sent metals prices higher. BHP Billiton gained 1.75 percent to £10.49, while Anglo American added 2.5 percent to £22.18 and Xstrata was up 3.1 percent to £20.50.
In the steel sector, Corus advanced by 2.5 percent to 456½p as rumors persisted that India’s Tata Steel is interested in making a bid.
Among utilities, Centrica added 4.1 percent to 285¼p after the head of Gazprom said during a news conference in Moscow that while there are not talks going on presently, he is still interested in purchasing the owner of British Gas. Gazprom recently bought Pennine Natural Gas, based in Cheshire.
In the semiconductor sector, Wolfson Microelectronics gained 4.3 percent to 115¼p on a reconfirmation of a “buy” recommendation from ABN Amro.
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