FTSE rises after gains on Wall Street

• 19 November 2015
• From the section Business

(Open): UK stocks opened higher, tracking gains seen on Wall Street after the Federal Reserve indicated that the US economy was strengthening.

The comments, in the minutes from the Fed’s October meeting, backed the view that US rates will rise in December.

US markets closed higher on Wednesday, and in London the FTSE 100 opened up 54.67 points at 6,333.64.

Royal Mail rose 4.6% to 475.10p after it reported a fall in half-year profits but said costs were set to fall.

The postal firm said that it expected underlying operating costs at its UK letters and parcels business to be down by “at least” 1% in the 2015-16 financial year.

In the FTSE 250, shares in Poundland sank 16% after the budget retailer reported a fall in half-year sales and profits, and added that trading in the third quarter had been “highly volatile”.

On the currency markets, the pound rose 0.26% against the dollar to $1.5277, and was 0.21% higher against the euro at €1.4318.