FTSE 100 climbs above 6,400 to hit five-year high

The UK's blue chip index has climbed to a five-year high above 6,400, surpassing the peak of 6,376 seen before the financial crisis.

The FTSE 100 ended yesterday's session at 6,379 points, higher than the previous five-year peak set in May 2008, and has continued to rise this morning, driven up by banks, tech companies and engineers. By 10:06am the index had climbed above 6,400 to a high of 6,403. Leading the index higher was beverage can giant Rexam, up 5.4% after a pleasing set of results which revealed its underlying profits had risen. Other winners included Royal Bank of Scotland and tech company Sage Group, up 2.2% and 2.1% respectively. The gains helped push the index to a new high despite disappointing...