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FTSE 100 gains 22% in 2009 (AFP)
LONDON (AFP) –
The leading stock exchange closed higher in a half-day session on Thursday — the final trading session of 2009 — to chalk up an impressive annual gain of more than 22 percent.
rose 0.28 percent to finish at 5,412.88.
Lloyds was the most traded stock, seeing 42.8 million units change hands, followed by the telecom giant Vodafone, which saw 21.8 million shares switch owners.
was top of the leader board, gaining 28.0 pence — or 4.26 percent — to finish at 685, followed by peer Hammerson, which saw shares gain 16.2 pence — or 3.97 percent — to stand at 424.
The day's worst performer was BT, which shed 2.2 pence — or 1.60 percent — to finish at 135, followed by caterer Compass, which gave up 7.0 pence — or 1.55 percent — to end at 445.2.
Sterling gained ground against the dollar but lost ground against the euro.
At 14:48, the pound was trading at $1.6174, up from $1.6078 at Wednesday's close. The pound dropped against the euro, falling to 0.8885, down from 0.8919 over the same period.