Footsie reaches new milestone

City traders celebrated a new milestone today when the FTSE 250 Index broke through the 10,000 barrier on a day when blue-chip stocks were also in hot demand.

Upbeat results from the likes of First Choice Holidays and JD Wetherspoon drove mid-cap shares to a new high of 10024.5, while talk of a bid for Centrica from Russian energy giant Gazprom was encouraging investment in the top flight.