FTSE bursts to fresh year high

Optimistic comments from the US Fed chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday about the US economy and an influential survey showing a steep rise in UK business confidence pushed the FTSE up 40 points, or 0.83%, to trade at 4,890 at just past 9:30am. Miners and oil stocks topped blue chip gains, with Eurasian Natural Resources up almost 4.6% to 890.5p, silver miner Fresnillo rose 2.7% to 637.5p, while Randgold Resources gained 1.5% to 3567p. Positive sentiment also gripped Asian stocks, with Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index jumping 342.9 points, or 3.4%, to 10,581.1. Meanwhile, in the US on Friday, ...