Investors in bullish form at FTSE

Investors were in bullish mood today as shares in London powered to their highest level for more than five years.

The FTSE 100 Index built on last week’s gains to stand 23.2 points higher at 6180.5 at lunchtime – its highest level since February 2001.

It followed another strong performance in New York late on Friday where the Dow Jones Industrial Average built on recent gains to set another Wall Street record.

Stock markets in Asia were also making waves with the Nikkei in Japan and Hang Seng in Honk Kong strong despite concerns over North Korea’s nuclear strategy.

Miners were among the stocks in form in London as copper prices continued to rise. Lonmin was up 55p to 2758p, BHP Billiton gained 12p to 1010p and Anglo American lifted 26p to 2438p.

Oil stocks were also on the move after the price of crude moved back above 59 US dollars a barrel. BP gained 7.5p to 599.5p while Royal Dutch Shell was 15p better off at 1835p.

And ITV was on the risers board after chairman Sir Peter Burt scotched speculation that he might stand down. Morgan Stanley also upgraded its rating on the stock as it sensed an improvement in the UK advertising market, sending shares up 1.75p to 102.25p.

Shares in BAE Systems made progress early on after a report suggested it could be considering a merger with shipbuilding firm VT Group. VT rose 12.75p to 501.75p but BAE gave back its early gains to sit a penny lower at 419.75p.

Takeover speculation also circled round the water companies with Severn Trent up 5p to 1482p following reports that Terra Firma Capital Partners may make a bid if it is unsuccessful in its pursuit of Thames Water.

In the second tier, Carphone Warehouse shares remained under pressure as the fall out continued from Vodafone’s decision to drop the retailer as a supplier of contract phones. Shares were down 2%, or 5p to 298.25p, after a rollercoaster few days for the stock.

And Party Poker owner PartyGaming continued its miserable run with a loss of 7% or 2.5p to 32p after UBS cut its price target from 75p to 26p following the implementation of strict anti-gaming regulations in the United States. The stock has tumbled 70% lower since the new law was passed by Congress two weeks ago - wiping £3 billion off its value.