The FTSE 100 Index closed at its highest level since early January today as investors were cheered by a raft of results from corporate heavyweights.

The LexisNexis online information service told 32,000 people last night that their personal information may have been improperly accessed by former customers in a credit card fraud scheme that postal officials said had hit hundreds.

British pay increases averaged 2.9% in the quarter through May from the year-earlier period, the same as in the previous three months, according to a review of wage agreements by Industrial Relations Services.