FTSE 100 closes above 6,400 for the first time in five years
Britain's blue chip shares surged on Tuesday to close above 6,400 for the first time in over five years helped by solid company reports and supportive central bank comments.
Financials and miners added the most points to the FTSE 100 , with results from heavyweight stocks in both sectors meeting or beating expectations despite tricky trading environments.
Miner Xstrata gained 7.2 percent after beating expectations in its final results before it merges with Glencore , which also gained 6.2 percent after posting results.
The banking sector, which also rises and falls with optimism over the economy, made gains led up by Standard Chartered .
The globally-focussed bank reported its tenth straight year of rising profit, and gained 3 percent following its results - a rare phenomenon this earnings season among UK banks.
The results also reflect well on global growth trends, which many FTSE 100 stocks, such as the miners, are also highly sensitive to.
"To an extent, (their results) are not just about Standard Chartered, it's a proxy for emerging market growth opportunities, which also look encouraging," Mike Ingram, market analyst at BGC Partners, said.
"Corporate earnings have actually done pretty well, even if the economy hasn't, so the bull case for equity markets is actually quite reasonable," Ingram added, saying that supportive monetary policy was also helping the gains.
The European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan are all expected to stick to ultra easy monetary policy at meetings this week, following on from reassurances by U.S. Federal Reserve
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