FTSE rises more than 1%

Other gainers included Amec, up 4.8%, and Whitbread, 3.9% higher. The FTSE 250 also rose, adding almost 1% to close at 2,984.29. Shares on Wall Street were falling as London closed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average sliding 55.12.24 points to 12,214, after investors responded to fresh data showing new home starts last month were at their lowest level since 1991. The Nasdaq Composite was slightly lower at 2471.4, down 3.42 points. Investment bank Goldman Sachs bucked the downward trend after reporting an 11% fall in its quarterly profit, better than analysts had expected; the sha...