London - Britain's top share index rose on Tuesday, with Land Securities leading the market higher after raising its dividend payout and Reed Elsevier advancing following positive comments from a major investment bank.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 0.5 percent at 7,001.12 points by 07h54 GMT. The index has gained nearly 7 percent so far this year.
Shares in Land Securities rose 2.4 percent, the top FTSE 100 gainer, after Britain's largest listed property developer hiked its dividend by 3.7 percent, saying a boom in demand for commercial property had boosted its net asset value by 27.6 percent in the year ended March 31.
“Land Securities numbers were good and highlight that the office space market will continue to improve with a further pickup in the economy. The company will benefit from a rise in the rental demand,” Securequity trader Jawaid Afsar said.
Shares in Anglo-Dutch publisher Reed Elsevier gained 2.1 percent to 1,124 pence after Goldman Sachs raised its price target for the stock to 1,230 pence from 1,210 pence.
However, gains in the broader stock market were capped by a drop in miners after prices of key industrial metals fell. BHP Billiton, Fresnillo and Anglo American fell 1.3 to 2.3 percent. The UK mining index was down 1.3 percent.
BHP Billiton also came under pressure after JP Morgan cut its target price for the stock to 1,425 pence from 1,600 pence.
Among top individual decliners, Vodafone fell 2.6 percent as some traders said that the mobile network operator's guidance had been slightly below forecasts, even though Vodafone returned to quarterly sales growth.
“Vodafone delivered a more cautious outlook than expected as it presses ahead with network investment to increase both speed and coverage and reduce customer churn,” Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, said.
“It would appear that the prospect of further network investment being required to offset squeezed consumers is weighing on expectations.”
Reuters