FTSE surges to five-year high as US jobs cheer investors

The FTSE 100 has hit a new five-year high after better-than-expected US jobs data sparked a 50 point rise in the blue chip index.

Latest figures show the US added 165,000 jobs in April, higher than the 140,000 expected by economists, with the unemployment rate dropping from 7.6% to a four-year low of 7.5%. Adjustments to earlier data also buoyed investors: March's disappointing payrolls number was revised up by some 50,000 to 138,000, with February's figure was revised up from 268,000 to 332,000. Having previously been up just 0.1% on the day, the FTSE jumped 1.2% on the news, moving as high as 6,537 - the highest level since December 2007. The index's closing five-year high, also set in March of this year, i...