LONDON -- The FTSE 100 (INDEX: ^FTSE) still isn't doing much this week, trundling along just 10 points short of last night's close, at 5,733 points. Still, it's better than crashing on some new eurozone crisis or another banking scandal.

And even if nothing much is happening to the index of top U.K. shares, that doesn't mean there isn't any excitement out there. Here are three companies from the FTSE indexes that are soaring today.

Cape
Oil, gas and mining support services provider Cape (LSE: CIU.L) got a healthy 38.6-pence boost (20%) to 231 pence after releasing interim results. Although pre-tax profits fell 65%, that was expected after the firm had released two prior profit warnings due to problems with its Algerian business.

But what cheered investors was the news that revenue was up and that the outlook is good, with new chief executive Joe Oatley saying "I continue to believe that the core of the business is fundamentally strong." City analysts, many of whom had been fearing the proverbial third profit warning, seem convinced that the Cape turnaround is now on.

Unite
Student accommodation provider Unite Group (LSE: UTG.L) was another morning soarer, up 26.5 pence (12%) to 250 pence, again based on an interim results release. In this case, the boost topped a great year for the shares, which has seen them gain around two-thirds from a pre-Christmas low of 150 pence.

The results? A doubling of pre-tax profit to 33.5 million pounds, and a tripling of adjusted earnings per share to 9 pence. The interim dividend was doubled to 1 pence per share. The demand for university places, coupled with strong asset values, makes the outlook appear bright.

Bowleven
Bowleven (LSE: BLVN.L), the AIM-listed oil and gas explorer, spiked up 6.5 pence (10.3%) to 69.5 pence today, on no apparent news. The reason for the rise appears to be takeover rumors, which are spreading across various discussion forums, though there has been no substantiation and they seem to be based on nothing more than the firm's falling share price -- it's down by around half since late March.

Rumors, which are easy to start and to spread, especially in a sector like this, should be of no consequence to Foolish investors.

In fact, if you want to invest in the oil and gas exploration business, the latest Motley Fool report, "How To Unearth Great Oil & Gas Shares" is likely to be far more valuable. It's free, so click here for your personal copy.

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