LONDON -- The FTSE 100 (INDEX: ^FTSE) continued its good start to the week, gaining 21 points (0.4%) in early trading to stand at 5,661. After all the failed restarts, is this finally the start of a push that will take it back over the popular 6,000 mark it hasn't seen in nearly a year?

Well, that's a meaningless number really, and what counts is what individual companies are doing. Here are three from the FTSE indexes that have done well today.

Telecom growth
Full-year results from AdEPT Telecom (LSE: ADT.L) a company I've had my eye on for some time, were enough to push the shares up by 6% to 52.5 pence.

Pre-tax profit was up 58% to 1.2 million pounds, leading to an earnings-per-share boost of 11% to 11.35 pence. That enabled the company to pay its maiden dividend of 0.5 pence per share -- it's only 1%, but it's a start.

Highlights also include strong increases in data connectivity, with more than 90% of revenues now coming from customers taking more than one service, and a net debt reduction of 2.1 million pounds to 5.3 million pounds.

We've struck gold!
Condor Gold
(LSE: CNR.L) got a welcome boost this morning, gaining 40% to 80 pence on the news that it has struck gold.

The company's La India Vein Set is looking good, as drilling has strongly suggested that it holds enough ore to enable open-pit mining. Apparently it has a "JORC Code Resource of 730,000 oz at 5.3g/t," which clearly means good news to people buying the shares today.

This boost is timely, as the shares have been sliding all year as the mania for the shiny stuff seems to wane.

Green progress
Shares in Oxford Catalysts (LSE: OCG.L) jumped 15% to 66.3 pence after the synthetic-fuels developer released news of a major project in London.

The GreenSky London waste-biomass-to-jet-fuel project, run by Solena Fuels Corporation and partnered by British Airways, has selected Oxford Catalysts to supply it as it strives to create Europe's first commercial-scale jet-fuel facility.

It will be a relief for shareholders, who had seen the value of their shares fall by 40% over the past year.

If you want to find shares that have a good chance of soaring, at least over the long term, the free report "Top Sectors for 2012," put together by The Motley Fool's top analysts, should give you some ideas of where to look.

Are you looking to profit as a long-term investor? " Ten Steps To Making A Million In The Market " is the latest Motley Fool guide to help Britain invest. Better. We urge you to read the report today -- while it's still free and available.

Further Motley Fool investment opportunities: