3 Shares Set to Beat the FTSE Today

LONDON -- The FTSE 100 crushed its previous 52-week high of 5,989 points today and soared through the unimportant 6,000-point barrier, putting 2.4% by 9: 40 a.m. EST by midday to reach 6,039. The reason, of course, is the deal reached in the U.S. to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff."

Some individual constituents of the FTSE indexes are also on the way up today. Here are three whose prices are rising.

Weir
Shares in FTSE 100 industrial engineer Weir Group gained 3.7% reach 1,948 pence on news of a disposal and an acquisition. Weir, which focuses on the mining, oil and gas, and power markets, completed the sale of LGE Process on Dec. 28 for an enterprise value of 23 million pounds.

And on Dec. 31, the acquisition of Mathena was completed. The purchase, as described on Dec. 20, involved an initial payment of $240 million, with up to a further $145 million depending on profit targets.

Lamprell
It seems a good day for support companies in the oil and gas sector generally, as Lamprell shares put on 16.2% after the company announced that it has received banking covenant waivers from its lenders relating to some of its debts. The covenants were due to be tested on Dec. 31. Although revenue is still expected to continue to fall as we enter 2013, Lamprell ended 2012 in a better working-capital position with net cash of around $100 million.

We also heard positive news of progress in two of Lamprell's current contracts.

Wood Group
And to bring up our trio of oil-and-gas-related companies today, we see John Wood Group shares up 2.3% to 743 pence, though the only news today is of two new executive directors joining the board. They are Mark Dobler, chief executive of the firm's GTS division, and Robin Watson, chief executive of its PSN division.

Wood Group's share price has been falling since November, but it's still up over the past 12 months, and earnings forecasts look healthy.

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The article 3 Shares Set to Beat the FTSE Today originally appeared on Fool.com.

Alan Oscroft has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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