LONDON -- The FTSE 100 (INDEX: ^FTSE) has seen its daily rises falter a little today, with the index of top U.K. stocks down 16 points to 6,094 at the time of writing. Further positive news from Japan failed to lift the markets after the outgoing Bank of Japan governor told us that further easing is on the cards to boost the economy. But on the downside, the U.S. could hit its debt ceiling before the end of February, according to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
But even if the index is flat today, a number of individual constituents are rising strongly. We look at three.
Burberry (BRBY 0.89%)
The share price recovery at Burberry Group continues, with a nice rise today of 52 pence, or 4%, taking the price almost back to its level before the September crash. Today's driver was a trading update that told us of a 9% rise in revenue to 613 million pounds, with retail revenue up 13% to 464 million pounds.
The firm had a "strong week in the run up to Christmas," with digital sales performing strongly. Burberry also opened seven new stores during the period, including a new flagship store in Chicago.
Ocado (OCDO -0.80%)
Online supermarket Ocado, which has had a troubled time since its flotation, has gained 3% to reach 87 pence after Christmas revenue came in 14% higher than in the 2011 season at 91.6 million pounds. Customer orders were up 11.4%, and the average order size rose as well.
The firm received average orders of 14,000 per week for the last four weeks of its financial year, and we are told that the second warehouse and processing center is on track in its development. Though today's price rise is welcome, there's still some way to go to regain its flotation level.
Lavendon (LSE: LVD)
Lavendon Group, which rents aerial work platforms in Europe and the Middle East, pleased the market with a positive trading update today, telling us it expects full-year performance to be at the upper end of current forecasts. The share price responded by jumping 9.3% to 158 pence. They're now up 75% over the past 12 months.
Revenue for the year ending December rose 4%, with fourth-quarter revenue up by the same proportion. The firm also reduced its net debt by 8 million pounds to 99 million pounds.
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