Whitbread, the Costa Coffee and Premier Inn owner, was lifted by encouraging first-quarter results that showed a 6.9% increase in like-for-like sales. Housebuilder Crest Nicholson, which has many new developments in Sussex, also rose after encouraging half-year results.

Broker recommendation changes drove other notable movers.

B&Q owner Kingfisher fell after some analysts turned negative and advised selling the shares, arguing that the property market is turning and the DIY group will be hit. Apparently estate agents are seeing properties come on stream without the buyers to match: potential signs the housing market recovery is stalling.

Investors in SuperGroup, the UK retailer that sells the fashionable Superdry brand, have had a torrid time of late.

The stock’s poor run has perplexed some investors, given there were no announcements from the company in the past week, or developments in the retail sector that should have materially knocked the share price.

The retailer had unsettled investors early last month with its weak fourth-quarter trading statement, which reminded the market of the unfortunate string of profit warnings that hit the shares in 2011-12.

The company’s brokers are encouraging investors to buy shares in the wake of its recent plunge. Airlines remained under pressure as oil prices continued to rise, pushing up fuel costs: EasyJet and International Airlines Group, the owner of British Airways and Iberia, were the main casualties.

Despite the worrying news from Iraq, investors found some comfort after the US Federal Reserve reassured markets that the recovery in the world’s biggest economy remains on course.

Janet Yellen, who chairs the Fed, buoyed investor confidence by saying: “Economic activity is rebounding in the current quarter and will continue to expand at a moderate pace.”

She also repeated the Fed’s pledge to keep interest rates at low levels “for a considerable time”.

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