FTSE enjoys positive end to week

The FTSE 100 Index 32 points lower at 4699.6

The London market capped its tenth consecutive day of gains after investors pushed ahead with the strongest rally for the market in more than five years.

The FTSE 100 Index rose despite worse than expected figures on the UK economy as reassuring results from Vodafone saw the heavyweight stock up 3%.

London's top flight closed up 16.8 points to 4576.6, brushing aside a fall into the red for US markets following disappointing results from Microsoft and Amazon.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3% on the trading update as investors paused for breath after hefty gains in the US.

Despite the lull, the Dow has also moved ahead in recent days, pulling back above the 9000 barrier for the first time since the start of the year.

The London market has now completed two weeks without a single negative session and has climbed to its highest level since January.

Economic recovery hopes, fuelled by recent strong US corporate results, have driven the recent improvements in sentiment.

But the continued rise in London was severely tested by second quarter output figures, which showed a 0.8% decline in the UK.

Analysts had been expecting a fall of 0.3%, adding that it now looked as if the recession had some way to go.

The major corporate interest of the session concerned Vodafone after the mobile phone giant said first-quarter revenues rose 9.3% to £10.74 billion, leading it to reiterate previous guidance on its full-year results.