British outsourcing group Serco was the strongest riser after revealing that full year revenue rose 5.7 per cent to 4.9bn pounds, underpinned by a strong performance in international markets.

International energy services company Wood Group rose after it posted a 20% rise in revenue from continuing operations in its full year ended December 31st, boosted by growth in all three divisions.

Xstrata was a strong riser after its net income came in ahead of analyst expectatons and despite the results being less-than-impressive.

Meggitt, the global engineering group, was also heading higher after it posted an upbeat set of results for 2012, with revenue and profit up, net debt lower, and a 12 per cent increase in the dividend.

Meawhile, defensive stocks, including Centrica and SSE, were sitting in the red, as a riskier appetite pushed the market higher.

Intu Properties was one of the day's weaker performers after Bank of America gave it a less-than-glowing report, although it did upgrade the company to neutral from sell.


FTSE 100 - Risers
Serco Group (SRP) 627.00p +8.29%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 817.50p +7.85%
Xstrata (XTA) 1,162.50p +5.73%
Glencore International (GLEN) 387.75p +4.81%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,439.50p +3.72%
GKN (GKN) 285.90p +3.62%
Meggitt (MGGT) 474.50p +3.35%
Kingfisher (KGF) 285.60p +3.03%
ITV (ITV) 126.00p +3.03%
Experian (EXPN) 1,161.00p +2.93%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Intu Properties (INTU) 336.70p -0.71%
SSE (SSE) 1,462.00p -0.48%
Centrica (CNA) 360.00p -0.39%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,272.00p -0.31%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 343.70p -0.29%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 258.20p -0.19%
Polymetal International (POLY) 983.50p -0.15%
Croda International (CRDA) 2,620.00p -0.11%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 167.55p -0.09%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 4,513.00p -0.09%

NR

Related share prices
Centrica (CNA) share price
SSE (SSE) share price
Meggitt (MGGT) share price
Serco Group (SRP) share price
Xstrata (XTA) share price
Wood Group (John) (WG.) share price
Intu Properties (INTU) share price