Retailers lead rally on FTSE 100
Thursday 23rd April 2009, 9:54AM BST.
The FTSE 100 rose five points in early trading to 4,035.79 by 09:00 BST as investors digested yesterday’s Budget.
Retail stocks led the rally, with Next up 8.01 per cent and Marks & Spencer up 6.61 per cent, while Home Retail Group jumped 4.73 per cent.
Fund management firm Schroders offset the gains with a 3.24 per cent fall, after reporting a 54 per cent fall in first quarter profits.
Yesterday’s Budget targeted the top income earners and featured help for pensioners, making it a mixed bag for the stock market.
Pension providers were affected by the changes as many fear high earners may take their cash elsewhere, while a gloomy economic forecast for the year signalled the recession is far from over.
However, the chancellor was optimistic on how long the recession is set to last and early indications of a recovering house market has helped cheer investors.
Over in the US, volatile banking stocks are still directing the markets. The Dow Jones fell one per cent last night and the S&P 500 was down 0.8 per cent after Morgan Stanley posted its second straight quarterly loss and cut its dividend.
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