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Shares in some of Britain’s biggest companies hit record highs yesterday as investors pumped money into the stock market.
Engineering giant Rolls-Royce, defense group BAE Systems, High Street stalwart Next and private equity firm 3i were among those to hit record highs on a bumper day for investors.
The gains came as stock markets around the world soared on growing hopes of an imminent interest rate cut.
The FTSE 100 index rose 1.9 per cent, or 145.17 points, to 7882.55 – its highest in 11 months – and the FTSE 250 climbed 1.3 per cent, or 256.91 points , at 19741.31.
Blue chip buyout firm 3i – London’s largest listed private equity firm – soared 8.7 per cent, or 220p, to 2748p after reporting business was booming at its biggest investment , the discount retailer Benelux Action.
Gains: The FTSE 100 index rose 1.9%, or 145.17 points, to 7882.55 – its highest in 11 months – and the FTSE 250 climbed 1.3%, or 256.91 points , at 19741.31.
Rolls-Royce continued its rise, adding another 3.3 per cent, or 13.5p, to reach an all-time high of 420.2p.
This brought gains to 350 percent since “Turbo” Tufan Erginbilgic took over last January, meaning they have more than quadrupled in value.
BAE Systems (up 1.2 per cent, or 15.5p, to 1351.5p) and Next (up 6.7 per cent, or 568p, to 9078p) were also among the record highs while Melrose Industries gained 2.8 percent, or 18.2p, to 664.2p to hit a high.
Susannah Streeter, head of finance and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “A large handful of FTSE 100 stocks have hit all-time highs, with aerospace stocks helped by heightened geopolitical tensions, others showing prowess in the highly competitive retail sector, while Rising metal prices have benefited some mining companies more than others.
They have helped the FTSE 100 regain some of its momentum, although the index is still short of its peak above 8,000 points in February last year.
But while Melrose was toasting records, its spin-off Dowlais was firmly stuck in reverse.
The company said revenue for the year will be similar to 2023 levels, with demand for its drivetrain systems affected by a decline in global light vehicle production.
The company, which was spun out of Melrose Industries last year, announced a revenue increase of almost 6% for 2023 to £4.9 billion.
But losses widened to £522 million. Dowlais announced a £50m share buyback over 12 months from April and declared a final dividend of 2.8pa shares.
But the stock fell 9.7 per cent, or 8.74p, to 81.2p, leaving it close to its record lows.
The shares started trading at 146p each in April last year but have since fallen by around 40 per cent.
Although it didn’t exactly go unnoticed, a takeover that didn’t attract the same level of attention as Direct Line’s continuation (up 0.1 percent, or 0.2p, to 211 .7p) or Currys (up 1.3 per cent, or 0.2p, to 211.7p) cent, or 0.75p, to 60.8p) comes into the world of big sheds.
Tritax Big Box, which builds vast warehouses or distribution centers across the country for companies like Amazon, has agreed to buy a rival UK retail property for £924m.
Tritax shares climbed 2.7 per cent, or 4p, to 154.1p and UK Commercial Property climbed 5 per cent, or 3.2p, to 67.9p.