* Banks in favour as sovereign debt worries ease
* Next top blue-chip riser after FY results
* Vodafone falls; M Stanley downgrades
By Tricia Wright
LONDON, March 25 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index was
up 0.5 percent around midday on Thursday, with bank stocks
higher on receding sovereign debt concerns and retailers up
after investors cheered results from Next <NXT.L>.
By 1202 GMT, the FTSE 100 <> was 28.52 points higher at
5,706.40, just easing back after hitting a fresh 21-month
intra-day peak of 5,708.86.
According to Stephen Pope, chief global equity strategist at
Cantor Fitzgerald, the next resistance level for the FTSE 100 is
5,973. The blue-chip index has risen 6.6 percent so far in
March, and is heading for its best month since last August.
Banks were in favour, building on the previous session's
strength, with Barclays <BARC.L>, HSBC <HSBA.L>, Lloyds Banking
Group <LLOY.L>, Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> and Standard
Chartered <STAN.L> all rising 0.7 to 2 percent.
"The City has had time to digest the implications of the
budget, maybe that's got something to do with (today's
strength)," said Philip Gillett, sales trader at IG Index.
The sector also benefitted from a slight easing in the
concerns of sovereign debt exposure which had been ratcheted up
on Wednesday as agency Fitch cut its debt rating for Portugal.
Sentiment improved as investors awaited news from a European
Union meeting to help heavily indebted Greece, and after a
pledge by Dubai's government to support the restructuring of
debt-laden state-owned firms Dubai World and Nakheel.
[]
RETAIL CHEER
Next topped the blue-chip leader board, jumping 5.4 percent
after the fashion retailer beat company guidance with an 18
percent rise in 2009/10 profit. []
This, combined with upbeat UK retail sales figures, helped
sentiment around the sector, with Marks & Spencer <MKS.L> and
Home Retail <HOME.L> adding 1.6 and 0.6 percent.
British retail sales bounced back in February after the
worst January on record, official data showed. []
Home improvements retailer Kingfisher <KGF.L>, however,
slipped 1.6 percent after its full-year results, with some
analysts expressing disappointment about the extent of dividend
increases. []
Miners were in demand, building on Wednesday's rise, against
a backdrop of firmer metals prices, with Randgold Resources
<RRS.L>, Anglo American <AAL.L> and Kazakhmys <KAZ.L> up 0.5 to
0.8 percent.
Thomas Cook <TCG.L> added 5.7 percent as the holiday firm
said summer bookings had picked up across all of its major
markets and was confident it would perform in line with its
expectations for the full-year. []
Peer TUI Travel <TT.L>, which fell on Wednesday after both
Credit Suisse and Panmure Gordon cut their ratings following a
trading update, put on 2.5 percent.
British Airways <BAY.L> was another strong gainer, up 2.9
percent ahead of Iberia's <IBLA.MC> end-of-month board meeting,
when the merger agreement between the two carriers is expected
to be signed by the Spanish airline's bosses, while short
covering also boosted the price, traders said.
Vodafone Group <VOD.L> was the main drag on the positive
tone, shedding 0.9 percent as Morgan Stanley double-downgraded
its rating for the mobile phones operator to "underweight" from
"overweight".
(Editing by Simon Jessop)
