Rally ahead of today’s September 11 anniversary

ONLY four blue-chip stocks fell back yesterday as the London market rallied ahead of today’s September 11 anniversary.

Wed, 11 Sep, 2002 - 01:00

Last-minute buying before the FTSE 100 Index reshuffle boosted struggling music giant EMI, software firm Sage and British Airways.

And encouraging US retail sales data lifted sentiment on Wall Street with the Dow Jones Industrial Average moving up by 71 points.

As morale improved, the Footsie ended the day close to its highest point of the session, up 113.1 points at 4175.5.

Martin Dobson, head of dealing at NatWest Stockbrokers, said investors were picking up stocks that had been oversold in recent days. He added: “People are hoping nothing will happen tomorrow, and that markets will then be in a more positive mood.” British Airways closed up 3p at 135p, still 48% below a year ago, while Sage rose 7p to 122p and EMI edged up 6p to 178p. Among the heavyweights, the climbing oil price helped BP put on 11p to 478p while Shell ended the session up 3%, or 13p to 420p.

Barclays rose 14p to 446p, HSBC gained 24p to 721p and Royal Bank of Scotland climbed 42p to £15.52.

Biggest risers: Granada, up 6p at 82p, Dixons, up 14p at 181p, BSkyB, up 37p at 600p and Sage, ahead 7p at 122p.

Fallers: Aviva, down 9p at 444p, Safeway, off 3p at 213p, Royal & Sun Alliance, down p at 126p and Cable & Wireless, down p at 150p.