The London Stock Exchange (LON:LSE) reported a 21 percent jump in its first-half profit after tax.

The profits were driven by robust growth in its global indexes business, FTSE-Russell, who own Borsa Italiana, MillenniumIT, Russell Investments and the London Stock Exchange. FTSE-Russell rose 2.9 percent this morning to become one of the biggest gainers in the FTSE 100.

The exchange group said it would pay an interim dividend of 10.8 pence, up from 9.7 pence last year.

The London Stock Exchange is currently trading up 2.17 percent this morning at 2634 pence per share.