UK markets posted a strong rally on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 index being led forward by Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) and British Sky Broadcasting (BSY), which is better known as BSkyB.
Shares in Lloyds leapt up by 8%, making it the strongest gainer amongst the large-cap companies in London.
“The underlying results were better than expected. They’re whipping their core bank into shape quicker than they targeted and this is what is driving the share price today,” said Morningstar analyst, Erin Davis.
The bank also set aside another £1 billion for mis-selling payment protection insurance, but that provision was smaller than the market had originally feared.
BSkyB shares shot up by 7% after the pay-television broadcaster posted quarterly results that showed subscribers were adding additional services, which helped drive revenue up by 4%. Average revenue per user is now up at £550 per year, explained Morningstar analyst Allan Nichols in his latest research update.
"The firm also continues to do a great job of reducing costs, which is enabling it to spend more on programming and still increase its margins," said Nichols.
The rally for both of these large-cap companies helped push the FTSE 100 ahead, allowing it to rebound from Wednesday’s losses. The benchmark index jumped up by 79 points, or 1.4%, to close at 5,862. The FTSE 250 also rose by 157 points, or 1.3%, to close at 12,092.
However, not all shares were soaring higher. BG Group (BG.) fell to the bottom of the FTSE 100 for a second consecutive day. This comes after the oil and gas group announced that it expects lower production growth for this year and next year.