Travel operator TUI topped the blue-chip risers' board today after the City cheered a trading update saying it was confident of delivering underlying profit growth of between 10 per cent and 5 per cent for the year to November.

The Thomson and First Choice owner was the biggest climber as the wider FTSE 100 Index struggled for direction after the previous session saw it end a six-day winning streak in which it soared past the 7,000 mark.

Investors have been cheered over the last week or so by the prospect of US and UK interest rates remaining low for longer but there was little to inspire any change of sentiment in the latest session. The top-flight rose 5.2 points to 7024.9.

TUI's stand-out performance among stocks came after an update in which it said winter 2014-15 closed as expected, with higher average selling prices in most source markets, up one per cent overall. Summer 2015 bookings are up one per cent and average selling prices are up one per cent.

It comes after the completion of a merger in December between UK-based TUI Travel and Germany's TUI AG to create the world's largest tour operator. Shares rose 39p to 1221p.

Meanwhile, shares in construction firm Balfour Beatty rose six per cent despite its slump to a £304 million pre-tax loss and cancellation of its final dividend, as new boss Leo Quinn warned of "major short-term challenges".

Balfour also announced a fresh £118 million write-down on its UK construction business to add to the £70 million hit disclosed in January.

Roger Johnston, analyst at Edison Investment Research, said: "While the turnaround in performance will not be easy to achieve, we believe that Quinn's track record and no-nonsense approach will drag the business with him." Shares rose 14.2p to 245.4p.