Marks & Spencer Share News (MKS)

Well-received results from a number of FTSE 100 heavyweights and a sharp drop in consumer-price inflation in the UK lifted London's benchmark index to fresh multiyear highs on Tuesday.The Footsie finished at a closing price of 6,803.87 (up 0.7% on the day), trading at levels not seen in over a decade. The next major milestone for the index is now the all-time closing high of 6,930.2 reached on December 30th 1999."After a quiet morning throughout Europe, equity markets have pushed on again this afternoon as traders display an impressive appetite for risk assets despite growing calls amongst retail clients for stocks to cool off after what has been a meteoric rise," said Alex Young, a Senior Sales Traders at CMC Markets.The rise in UK consumer prices slowed sharply from an annual rate of 2.8% to 2.4% in April, as decline in the price of fuel offset an increase in food prices. Analysts had expected a figure closer to 2.7%. This was the first drop in inflation since last September and the lowest since June last year. Analyst Simon Hayes from Barclays Research said that if this fall in inflation is sustained it should provide a "welcome fillip" to the UK economy. He said: "It lessens the chronic squeeze on real pay and should help support domestic demand. In addition, with inflation less egregiously adrift of the 2.0% target, the Bank of England has more leeway to boost policy should the recovery falter."FTSE 100: M&S, Capita and Burberry surgeHigh Street chain M&S pleased with its full-year results as a 5.8% fall in underlying profits met market forecasts. The company posted flat sales owing as a strong performance in food was offset by weakness in general merchandise.Outsourcing giant Capita was a high riser after being selected by O2 as its preferred bidder to form a 10-year strategic partnership for customer management services. Meanwhile, a report in the Financial Times yesterday suggested that the company could be up for a large contract with the Metropolitan Police. Burberry, the British luxury brand, advanced after a strong performance in Asia helped drive record annual revenue and profit in 2012/13, with both figures beating analysts' expectations.Telecoms group Vodafone was also in positive territory after its full-year results as the company announced plans to reinvest the bumper dividend it received from Verizon Wireless. Both annual profits and revenues at the UK firm slipped year-on-year.Mining stocks meanwhile were also providing a lift as risk appetite improved with precious metals peers Polymetal and Randgold performing well after gold prices surged yesterday.G4S, the security firm which dropped earlier this month after giving disappointing guidance on margins, edged higher after announcing the resignation of CEO Nick Buckles. He will be replaced by Ashley Almanza, who has been working as CFO for just three weeks.Cruise ship operator Carnival, the world's largest, took a hit after it issued a brutal profit warning overnight for its full-year earnings per share, primarily as a result of lower net revenue yield expectations due to its current cruise ticket pricing. FTSE 250: HomeServe jumpsHomeserve shares were rising strongly after the group said it is confident it will return to modest growth in 2014/2015. The group said it has clear Sales and Marketing plans for increasing both customer acquisition and retention and expects UK customer numbers to stabilise at around 1.9m from March 2014. Ophir Energy made gains after Exane upgraded the stock to outperform, with a target price of 570p. Meanwhile, online gaming group bwin.party was in the red after seeing sales shrink sharply in the first quarter as it looks to restructure in the face of increased regulation.FTSE 100 - RisersPolymetal International (POLY) 669.00p +8.43%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 467.90p +6.22%Capita (CPI) 1,005.00p +5.90%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,541.00p +5.33%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,931.00p +5.00%Anglo American (AAL) 1,621.50p +4.41%Evraz (EVR) 158.80p +4.27%Antofagasta (ANTO) 964.00p +4.10%Aggreko (AGK) 1,856.00p +3.80%Pearson (PSON) 1,262.00p +3.44%FTSE 100 - FallersCarnival (CCL) 2,267.00p -5.93%ARM Holdings (ARM) 1,065.00p -2.83%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 342.20p -2.76%British Land Co (BLND) 643.00p -2.28%Intertek Group (ITRK) 3,274.00p -1.59%SABMiller (SAB) 3,537.50p -1.35%Land Securities Group (LAND) 981.00p -1.31%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 279.20p -1.20%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 61.53p -1.08%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 798.50p -0.99%FTSE 250 - RisersHomeserve (HSV) 250.20p +10.22%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 120.00p +8.40%Ophir Energy (OPHR) 411.90p +7.52%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 31.50p +5.46%Inmarsat (ISAT) 698.50p +4.88%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 260.00p +4.42%Hiscox Ltd (HSX) 600.00p +4.17%QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 207.00p +4.02%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 365.30p +3.87%Kier Group (KIE) 1,245.00p +3.75%FTSE 250 - FallersParagon Group Of Companies (PAG) 325.00p -6.12%Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,245.00p -3.11%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 139.20p -2.86%COLT Group SA (COLT) 116.50p -2.02%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 315.00p -1.87%Rank Group (RNK) 160.00p -1.84%National Express Group (NEX) 212.10p -1.81%Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 649.50p -1.81%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 151.60p -1.81%PayPoint (PAY) 883.00p -1.67%