Pharmaceuticals give FTSE shot in the arm
The London market kept its poise this morning as pharmaceuticals and telecoms attracted a fresh wave of investment.
Mobile phone operator O2 advanced 3% and rivals Vodafone and BT Group were also higher as the FTSE 100 Index moved 9.3 points higher to 5118.4 by mid-morning.
Progress came in spite of official data which showed the UK economy growing at a slower pace than first thought.
Analysts said the data could help the market if it persuades the Bank of England to cut the cost of borrowing soon.
Rumours that O2 might be in the sights of venture capitalists or overseas telecoms groups helped the stock to rise 3.5p to 135.75p. BT Group followed closely behind with a 4.5p increase to 232.75p and Vodafone was ahead by 1.75p to 138.75p.
Pharmaceuticals firms were also helping the market to kick on with AstraZeneca improving 36p to 2303p and GlaxoSmithKline up 15p at 1363p.
FTSE 100 hopeful PartyGaming bounced 3.25p to 142.25p on the first day of full trading in the online poker firm. Its shares were cautiously priced at 116p at the start of this week.
