LONDON -- The FTSE 100
But individual companies are hitting new highs each day. Here are three from the FTSE indices that were reaching for the sky this week.
Diageo
Drinks maker Diageo
And from its low point of 733 pence in 2009, the shares have more than doubled over just three years. What is it that makes Diageo so attractive? Elissa Bayer, director at wealth manager Williams de Broe, had some kind words to say about it in this week's chat with Fool analyst David Kuo.
Debenhams
A 52-week high from a high-street department store? Yes, that's what Debenhams
They're currently down a little from that at 87 pence, but even after a 30% rise this year, they're still on a forward price-to-earnings ratio of only 9.5 based on full-year forecasts. The expected dividend yield is a modest 3.5%, but it should be three times covered.
Tobacco
In this sector, I'm going to choose two -- but they are so closely related they're hard to split. Both British American Tobacco
That puts both shares up around 20% on the year, but the fundamentals still don't make them look expensive. British American and Imperial shares are on equal forecast dividend yields of 4.1% for this year, rising to 4.5% next.
Don't fancy tobacco as a sector? Well, if you want to find other shares that have a good chance of reaching new highs over the longer term, the free report "Top Sectors Of 2012", put together by The Motley Fool's top analysts, should give you some ideas of where to look.
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