LONDON -- A month or so ago, the FTSE 100 (INDEX: ^FTSE) was looking like it might beat its 52-week high of 5,989 points soon. But since then we've seen U.S. markets fall on profitability fears and Europe hit by the news that the eurozone is once again in recession. A new record level is looking increasingly further away.
Still, individual constituents of the various FTSE indexes are reaching new levels every day. Here are three that have been flying of late.
Prudential (LSE: PRU.L)
Shares in Prudential are hitting new heights today, up 2.1% to 886 pence and heading for their highest closing price of the year. As the financial sector recovers from the events of the credit crunch, Prudential is doing well, with its shares now up 60% from a 52-week low of 555 pence set almost exactly a year ago.
And current forecasts for the year to December don't look too stretching, putting the shares on a price-to-earnings ratio of 13 with a dividend yield of 3.2% expected.
TalkTalk (LSE: TALK.L)
Telecom operator TalkTalk has been having a pretty good time, with interim results on Nov. 13 pushing the share price up to a 52-week high of 221 pence -- and that's a rise of more than 80% from the shares' low point of 119 pence in February. The price has stayed up at that level, too, and today it's just a few pence down to 216 pence.
The company is still expected to record a small fall in earnings this year, but at the time of those interim results we were told that we should expect a return to "year-on-year revenue growth" in 2013.
Mothercare (LSE: MTC.L)
Those who specialize in recovery stories should love Mothercare, which has seen its share price shoot up by more than 120% over the past 12 months. Today, the price -- at 300 pence -- sits just a penny short of its 52-week high of 301 pence set last month.
At the interim report stage in October, we were told that the board's strategy was "showing early signs of progress," and City analysts are forecasting a quick return to significant profit.
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