Stock investors await UK budget this week

The British Government's pre-election budget and a slew of company results will grab the attention of London stock investors this week.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index rose 0.44 per cent over the past five days to end the week at 5,650.13 points on Friday, its best closing level since June 2008. The market even flirted with the psychological mark of 5,700 points during trading on Friday, reaching a 20-month high at 5,691.22 points.

Investors will focus on the budget presentation by Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling on Wednesday ahead of a general election widely expected to be scheduled for May 6.

"The detail will likely show the chancellor maintain his forecasts for economic recovery and may even benefit from a smaller expected deficit for 2009-2010 than forecast in December," said Investec Securities economist Philip Shaw.

Official data showed on Thursday that British Government borrowing was less then expected in February, providing a timely boost ahead of next week's annual budget, analysts said.

However, state borrowing was still a record high for the month of February, at £12.4 billion (Dh68.38bn).