FYSE ends week on a high

London shares overcame a significant strengthening by the pound today to end the week on a high note.

Investors took heart from upbeat results by road haulier Exel and banking giant Lloyds TSB to ensure the FTSE 100 Index made progress, even though the pound hit its highest level against the US dollar since the end of last year.

The trigger for the pound’s surge against the greenback was mixed economic data across the Atlantic, which dampened expectations of higher interest rates there. At the close, the Footsie was 21.5 points higher at 5036.3.

Investors enjoyed the double delight of seeing two of the London market’s biggest firms post profits ahead of expectations.

Road haulier Exel headed the Footsie risers with a 4% or 29p rise to 839p after pre-tax profits proved higher than expected. There was also a rise in the final dividend and a likely return of capital to investors.

Shares in Lloyds TSB also did well, gaining nearly 2% or 8.75p to 497p after it cheered investors by announcing annual pre-tax profits of £3.5bn.

Although the profits haul of Lloyds was 20% down on last year, it was still better than some City analysts had predicted.

Gains by the rest of the banking sector were more modest, with HBOS up 7p at 839p and Royal Bank of Scotland adding 5p to 1797p.

Pubs group JD Wetherspoon had little to cheer after like-for-like sales fell 1.9% in February following a “testing” first six months of its financial year.

The highest Footsie climbers today were Exel advancing 29p to 839p, mmO2 up 4p to 126p, United Utilities rising 18.5p to 617p and Scottish & Southern Energy up 23.5p to 887p.

The heaviest fallers were Rentokil Initial down 5.75p to 164.5p, GlaxoSmithKline off 29p to 1289p, Morrisons down 4.5p to 218.75p and Capita Group off 6p to 374.25p.