BAE advances lift Footsie back above 5300 barrier

The defence giant was the Footsie's top share riser – gaining more than 4 per cent, or 15p, to 364p – after impressing with solid results, despite a one-off blow to profits from the loss of a US contract and hefty fines to settle bribery allegations.

Strong gains from heavily weighted miners added to the market momentum, with the FTSE 100 rising past 5300 for the first time in three weeks, adding 48.45 points to 5325.09.

Official figures showing the first ever net borrowing by the public sector in January failed to dampen sentiment, although the pound slid 0.5 per cent to 1.56 against the dollar.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained ground after a closely-watched index of economic indicators gave further recovery signals with its 10th consecutive monthly rise.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's regional economic survey grew more than expected in February as new orders surged.

"I think the big news in the Philly Fed is beneath the headline – the new orders index rose by a huge amount. The report is coincident with what we saw in the New York index, that manufacturing seems to have continued to expand into the start of the year," said Dan Greenhaus, market analyst at Miller Tabak & Co in New York.

US Labor Department data showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly and producer prices index gained by the largest advance since October 2008.

London-listed mining firm Eurasian Natural Resources joined BAE at the top of the FTSE 100 risers' board after boosting its copper capacity through an acquisition. Shares were 31p dearer at 1037p amid broad-based gains across the sector. B&Q owner Kingfisher, meanwhile, cheered 41/4p to stand at 2173/8p as it flagged up better than expected profits despite January's snow storms scuppering sales growth. The firm said the underlying business remained "relatively resilient".

Reckitt Benckiser, the household goods giant behind Cillit Bang and Vanish, also added 83p to 3445p after brokers at Evolution lifted their rating on the firm to buy.

BT Group was one of the top flight's biggest fallers, down 13/8p to 1153/4p, as yet more analysts marked down the stock on worries over the company's 9bn pension deficit.

Publishing group Reed Elsevier was the worst performer of the session, despite a 6 per cent fall in underlying profits, which beat market hopes. The Anglo-Dutch firm was 71/4p off at 4861/4p.

Hedge fund firm Man Group also dropped, down 11/8p to 2381/2p, after Wednesday's excitement over rumours of a bid by US fund management giant BlackRock faded.

Outside the top flight, shares in Halfords jumped 12 per cent, or

471/4p to 4387/8p, after it announced plans to move into the car servicing and repairs market with the acquisition of Nationwide Autocentres for 73.2m.

And services group VT jumped 381/2p to 660p after it emerged that rival Babcock International had tabled another takeover approach worth more than 1.2bn. It was rejected by VT, but investors clung to hopes of a new proposal.

Fellow second tier firm Ladbrokes was another in the red as the firm said revenues so far this year had been hit by the snow – although cost-cutting, high rollers and a lower tax bill boosted profits. Shares dipped 51/2p to 1511/8p, or 4 per cent.

The four biggest Footsie risers BAE Systems, Eurasian Natural Resources, Kazakhmys up 38p to 1349p, and Reckitt Benckiser.