Reply #39: FTSE near 7-year closing high

[Ghost Dog]

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlebusiness.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2007-06-01T163644Z_01_L31277963_RTRUKOC_0_UK-MARKETS-BRITAIN-STOCKS.xml

LONDON (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 index .FTSE of leading shares rose to its highest close since September 2000 on Friday, buoyed by a flurry of U.S. data and supported by mining shares.

The index ended the session 55.3 points, or 0.8 percent higher at 6,676.7, after a U.S. government report showed that the number of new non-farm jobs climbed more than expected in May, reassuring investors about the prospects for consumer spending.

Investors were further boosted by a stronger-than-forecast reading of the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index for May and the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index.

"It's been a buoyant...and not least on the back of the upbeat U.S. economic data, which has been universally positive," said Jimmy Yates, a dealer at CMC Markets.

"Rising copper prices are also helping boost sentiment as we move towards the close but for the time being equity markets just keep on going up, even if yield curves are looking flat to higher in the months ahead too."

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