The FTSE 100 shrugged off another bout of tech weakness in the US overnight and got off to a flying start led by Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group.
The Footsie was up 76 points 8,623 shortly after the open, building on the late gains seen Wednesday.
Sports Direct owner Frasers is the standout, with its shares leaping more than 8% as annual profits hit the top of forecasts and were accompanied by guidance for another hefty increase in the current year.
Power generator SSE meanwhile said it is on track to reach around nine gigawatts of installed capacity by 2027, largely from offshore wind farm projects. The company added that it welcomes the new government’s renewables plans.
Wealth platform AJ Bell was another healthy riser as it reported a big jump in customer numbers and said people are trading more as confidence in the market picks up.
Also on the up on a good day was Dunelm with shares of the homewares retailer up 6% on comments that profits this year would come in “slightly ahead of expectations”.
