BHP buyback raises FTSE confidence a fraction

The FTSE 100 Index closed up just a fraction on yesterday’s fall, gaining 9.3 points or 0.2% to 4,742.4, after BHP bought back A$2.27bn worth of shares – over 50% more than it was expected to buy back. As a result BHP also closed up 15.5p or 2.65% to 601.5p while Corus gained 1.75p or 3.32% to 54.5p because the firm is raising the cost of strip steel by 5% in January. AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical firm, also saw a healthy rise of 15p or 0.7% to £21.45 after a US Food and Drug Administration study found the cholesterol-loweing medicines by Pfizer and Merck carry a low risk of a deadl...