Earnings hopes help FTSE to 2% gain

In the US, there were upbeat reports from Alcoa and CSX while, in the UK, fashion retailer Burberry posted better-than-expected Q2 earnings. As of shortly after 2pm GMT, London's leading index was up more than 103 points, or 1.98%, at 5,270. News UK inflation had dropped for a second consecutive month to 3.2% in June also encouraged investors. BP continues to lead the day's winners, advancing 4.2% to 416p, after successfully installing a new sealing cap on the leaking Gulf of Mexico oil well. BP says it hopes the new cap will stop the leak and capture all the oil before it can ...