FTSE 100 closes ahead and big banks gain; US stocks lag - Proactive Investors UK

Britain's blue-chip benchmark finished the day nearly 40 points ahead, or 0.53%, at 6,772FTSE 100 closes nearly 40 points higherUS markets in the redBig banks on the up5.30pm: FTSE closes aheadFTSE 100 closed higher on Tuesday with banking groups doing well.

Back in London, the FTSE 100 was steadily rising into late afternoon, adding 12 points to 6,748 at around 2.40pm.

12.38pm: FTSE 100 unchangedLondon’s index of heavyweight shares is now unchanged, with the strength of financial stocks counterbalanced by weak defensive stocks such as utilities and tobaccos.

Utility companies, which were among the better blue-chip performers yesterday, are on offer today, with the likes of PLC ( ), PLC ( ) and ( ) down by 1% or more.

LoopUp PLC ( ) shares rallied as it revealed strong growth in its new cloud telephony business with its pipeline of potential new business now worth £106mln.

Published On: Tue, 30 Mar 2021 16:26:00 GMT