FTSE stays above 6,000
The appointment of a new chief executive at Compass continued to please investors today as the FTSE 100 Index stayed above the 6,000 threshold.
Shares in Compass lifted 5% or 10.5p to 245.75p after former BPB boss Richard Cousins was appointed by the catering giant, which trumpeted his restructuring skills.
Compass was closely tracked by supermarket giant Tesco on the risers board following reports that it was ready to overhaul its property portfolio, helping the Footsie to advance 39.6 points to 6029.7 by mid morning.
Tesco added 12p to 346.75p after the Daily Telegraph said it was considering placing its £12bn (€17bn) property portfolio in a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) to boost value for its shareholders.
That meant Tesco shares were trading at a record high even though the UK’s largest grocer said no decision had been taken.
British Airways was brought back down to earth today as investors feared a new wave of strike action following the publication of its pensions proposals yesterday.
Investors had welcomed the plan as a way to plug a pensions deficit of £1bn (€1.46bn), but unions have taken the opposite view and have vowed to fight a move they consider “unfair”. BA shares weakened 1.75p to 359p.
Meanwhile, shares in BP rose 10p to 665.5p as the oil giant confirmed it had abandoned plans to build a massive refinery in Punjab with the Indian Government, saying it was focussing on other opportunities elsewhere.
The highest riser outside the top flight was engineering firm Babcock International after defence firms BAE Systems and VT Group confirmed they were considering a takeover bid which would reshape Britain’s shipbuilding industry.
Babcock gained 15% or 40p to 310p even though an offer has yet to be put on the table. VT ticked 16p higher to 442p while BAE Systems put on 2.75p to 419.75p.
