LONDON -- After crashing through 6,000 points and then busting the 6,100 barrier, where will the FTSE 100 (INDEX: ^FTSE) go next? Well, it's edging ever closer to 6,200, having hit yet another 52-week high today of 6,184 before dropping back a few points to 6,177 as of 8 a.m. EST.
Markets were boosted by the Bank of Japan's announcement of a new quantitative-easing policy, due to take effect at the end of its current stimulus package. It has also targeted an inflation rate of 2% to try to beat the deflation that has been crippling Japanese demand.
But what of individual companies? Here are three constituents of the various FTSE indexes that are having a good day today.
Ocado (OCDO -0.63%)
Online supermarket Ocado has seen its shares boosted by 5% to 100 pence by midday after announcing a new arrival to the company's board of directors. The newcomer is none other than Sir Stuart Rose, ex-boss of Marks & Spencer. Sir Stuart will take on the role of nonexecutive director effective from March 11 and will replace Lord Grade as chairman on May 10.
The appointment comes at a time when Ocado is on the verge of doubling its capacity with the opening of its long-awaited new warehouse and order-processing center, and many will see the firm as entering a critical stage in its development.
Blinkx (LSE: BLNX)
Shares in video technologist Blinkx, a constituent of the Fool's Beginners' Portfolio, has perked up 3.9% after the company announced the full roll-out of its new blinkx.com website. Beta testing of the new site, which is aimed at providing "personalised, curated content," has apparently been successful, with a big improvement in traffic from mobile devices.
The Blinkx share price has been pretty flat so far in 2013 following a strong second-half advance in 2012. Forecasts for the current year are still modest, as the company's technology is still in its early stages, but strong earnings forecasts should hopefully start to kick in from next year.
Lo-Q (LSE: LOQ)
Lo-Q, the company that provides queuing technology for theme parks, has picked up 1.5% on the announcement of a new contract win. Dollywood's Splash Country will start using Lo-Q's water park offering for an initial three-year trial period starting with its 2013 season. Also, the firm's existing contract with Dollywood itself has been extended for another two years to 2015.
Shares in Lo-Q have done remarkably well over the past few years, providing close to a 20-bagger for those who invested in 2008 before the recent climb got under way.
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