London close: Stocks rise as debt talks continue in Washington

15th Oct 2013 16:45

Stocks finished at a three-week high on Tuesday on hopes that politicians Stateside can come to an agreement to avert a default with just two days to go before the government hits its borrowing limit.London's FTSE 100 benchmark index finished 41.46 points higher at 6,549; the last time it has closed higher was on September 24th when it finished at 6,571.46.House Speaker John Boehner said that lawmakers were "working [...] on a way forward", but added that "there have been no decisions about what exactly we will do".According to various reports, the proposal under discussion includes reopening the government to January and suspending the debt limit through to February 2014.Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Monday he was "very optimistic" that an agreement will be made ahead of the October 17th deadline following lengthy discussions with Republican counterpart Mitch McConnell. However, Reid warned this afternoon that credit-rating agencies could downgrade US debt "as soon as tonight" if a bill is not passed to raise the limit. US markets opened cautiously in New York today after banking heavyweight Citigroup missed consensus forecasts with third-quarter earnings. The bank reported a third-quarter profit of $1 per share ($1.02 on an adjusted basis), up from just 15 cents the year before but under the $1.05 forecast.FTSE 100: Burberry slides after surprise CEO exitThe share price of high-end luxury brand Burberry dropped to a three-month low after the surprise exit of Chief Executive Officer Angela Ahrendts and appointment of Chief Creative Officer Christopher Bailey. With Bailey also retaining his current position, the sole custody of both roles has "led to concerns over the burden placed on one pair of shoulders, especially given his lack of experience for at that level", said Toby Morris, Senior Sales Trader at CMC Markets.The news came as the company reported 14% growth in underlying sales in the first half, helped by strong demand from Chinese customers, and raised its profit guidance for the period.Leading the upside were the miners as risk appetite returned to the market on hopes over a fiscal deal in the US. Rio Tinto led the risers after enjoying a good third quarter of production, having produced and shipped a record level of iron ore thanks to its new infrastructure in Western Australia.Anglo American was higher despite revealing that a pending regulatory application could restrict access one of its subsidiary's Sishen mine in South Africa.Sector peers Antofagasta, Fresnillo and BHP Billiton were also making decent gains this morning.Hargreaves Lansdown rose after achieving record assets under administration (AuA) in the first quarter of fiscal year 2014. The financial services company reported AuA of £39.3bn in the three months to September 30th, up 7.9% from the previous quarter's £36.4bn. FTSE 100 - RisersRio Tinto (RIO) 3,215.00p +4.25%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,410.00p +3.68%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 410.30p +3.38%ARM Holdings (ARM) 1,018.00p +3.19%WPP (WPP) 1,281.00p +3.14%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,040.00p +3.07%Anglo American (AAL) 1,569.00p +2.99%Old Mutual (OML) 196.10p +2.67%Centrica (CNA) 367.90p +2.56%Antofagasta (ANTO) 888.50p +2.48%FTSE 100 - FallersBurberry Group (BRBY) 1,464.00p -7.63%Capita (CPI) 970.50p -3.62%Tullow Oil (TLW) 987.00p -1.30%Sage Group (SGE) 320.00p -1.14%BAE Systems (BA.) 439.20p -1.04%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,189.00p -0.99%Diageo (DGE) 1,935.00p -0.95%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,115.00p -0.89%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 118.50p -0.67%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,223.00p -0.49%FTSE 250 - RisersMan Group (EMG) 83.70p +6.35%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 268.10p +5.05%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 194.10p +4.92%Bellway (BWY) 1,453.00p +4.83%Rightmove (RMV) 2,524.00p +4.77%Senior (SNR) 264.90p +4.75%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 154.10p +4.26%Pace (PIC) 285.60p +4.04%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 283.50p +3.69%CSR (CSR) 536.00p +3.67%FTSE 250 - FallersEdinburgh Inv Trust (EDIN) 572.50p -4.98%Homeserve (HSV) 242.60p -4.49%Serco Group (SRP) 516.50p -3.91%Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,355.00p -3.35%Ladbrokes (LAD) 185.50p -3.18%Drax Group (DRX) 639.00p -3.03%Rentokil Initial (RTO) 107.90p -2.88%Renishaw (RSW) 1,692.00p -2.76%Dialight (DIA) 1,175.00p -2.57%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 24.65p -2.38%BC