The FTSE 100 has finally hurdled the psychologically important 6,000 barrier and closed just above it for the first time in 5 years.
The question now is whether the headline index will continue to push itself to new highs. It does not require much imagination to see the FTSE 100 skipping beyond its December 1999 all time high of 6930.2 and reaching the 7000 level.

The FTSE only needs a rise of 16% from here to reach that all-important 7000 mark and the index went up 15% last year.


The Footsieblog believes that fresh all time highs can be reached within the next twelve months and in this article we will help you pick some winners.


Certain key factors play a role in all this:


Further merger and acquisition (M&A) activity
Share buyback activity

Rising dividend payments
UK base rate remaining at 4.5% or going lower

Signs of a pick up in consumer spending
Continued strength in oil and commodity prices

Continued strength in the global economy


However some sectors are still suffering like the Telecoms sector. However, the provision of fixed telephony, Internet and broadcast television services via a single device by a single service provider has become a hot topic again.
New technologies such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Wi-FI are starting to put the best-laid plans of the operators through the ringer. (VoIP info blog)


Picking Winners


For investors, a shrewd way of maximising returns as the market continues its rise towards 7000 would be to pick out a bid candidate or two, a couple of underperformed and undervalued stocks of 2005 and maybe a commodity play for good earnings momentum.


The footsieblog has therefore built a portfolio of stocks aimed at a winning performance.


Scottish Power (SPW)

Scottish Power we believe is ripe for a takeover bid in the near future. Last year the company rejected a whopping 10.7 billion offer from German utility E.ON. However, the shares have carried on soaring ahead, valuing Scottish Power at around the 10.9 billion mark.


Lloyds TSB (LLOY)
Often regarded as the next takeover target in its sector, Lloyds TSB’s shares have been trading at their highest for roughly three and a half years.

The stock market old ladies rumour mill has US bank Wells Fargo as a favourite to make a move but Lloyds is not going to go without a fight which in turn, will push the share price significantly higher.


Xstrata (XTA)
Bumper full year results at the start of March and booming commodity prices make this stock worth a punt. Xstrata has its fingers in pretty much every pie, from gold to copper to coal. Prices have soared across the board.


Other stocks expected to outperform as the market races to the 7000 mark:


BP (BP.) – Soaring oil prices mean share buybacks - £38 billion in total.

DSG (DSG) – Consumer rebound in the summer?

Tullow Oil (TLW) – Another stock regarded as a strong takeover target.