LONDON -- The FTSE 100 (INDEX: ^FTSE) was dealt a couple of blows this morning and is down 146 points, or 2.3%, to 6,303 as of 7:50 a.m. EDT. The much-awaited news from the U.S. disappointed the markets, as we heard that the Federal Reserve is set to wind down its program of quantitative easing later this year -- yet it had to come sooner or later. And then we heard the news that the U.K.'s banks are facing a £27.1 billion capital shortfall.
On a day like that, are there any shares actually rising? The answer is yes. Here are three from the indexes that are on the up.
Dixons
Final results from Dixons Retail sent the firm's shares up 3.8% after the high-street electronics chain revealed a 4% rise in underlying sales for the full year. Like-for-like sales in the U.K. and Ireland were up 13% in the final quarter. Underlying pre-tax profit climbed 15% to £94.5 million, though restructuring and impairment charges resulted in a statutory pre-tax loss of £115.3 million.
Chief executive Sebastian James said, "We have returned to growth for the Group as a whole, and also to a net cash position, marking an important milestone in our transition from survivor to winner."
Ashtead (AHT +2.63%)
Ashtead Group, which is in the business of industrial-equipment rental, also released full-year results today, and the shares responded with a 5.4% jump to 661 pence -- the price is now up more than 150% over the past 12 months.
Figures were up strongly across the board: Revenue was up 19%, underlying pre-tax profit was up 87%, and underlying earnings per share were up 80%. The full-year dividend was more than doubled to 7.5 pence per share for a modest yield of 1.2%. Chief executive Geoff Drabble told us, "We anticipate that our profits in the coming year will be ahead of our earlier expectations."
Ted Baker (TED +0.00%)
Shares in fashion firm Ted Baker have picked up 12.5% this morning after an interim update told us of strong revenue growth. For the 20 weeks to June 15, the firm saw a 32.7% rise in total revenue compared with the same period a year prior, with retail sales gaining 30.7% and wholesale revenue up 41%. Gross margin remained in line with last year.
The firm is concentrating on overseas expansion, with chief executive Ray Kelvin CBE saying, "We are continuing to invest in developing the Ted Baker brand internationally and have been encouraged by the reaction to the brand and the collections in our new markets."
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