Telecoms companies provide FTSE boost

The FTSE 100 Index surged ahead for the third session in a row today as a multi-billion dollar telecoms deal offset concerns over military strikes in Libya and the ongoing nuclear crisis in Japan.

Markets were buoyed by news that Germany's Deutsche Telekom had agreed to sell T-Mobile USA to AT&T for US$39bn (€27.43bn), in a move that propelled UK mobile phone giant Vodafone to near the top of London's risers board.