Takeover talks drives FTSE upwards
Takeover rumours were driving blue-chip shares higher today and providing some new year optimism for the first trading session of 2008.
Mortgage bank Alliance & Leicester saw shares soar 12% after reports that Abbey-owner Santander had held discussions over a possible deal.
Friends Provident was also up 1% after speculation that it may be put up for sale, with the wider FTSE 100 Index benefiting from the rumours, up 41.5 points at 6498.4.
A&L shares gained 77p to 725p as the Financial Times reported that Santander had not ruled out rekindling takeover talks, even though discussions last month are said to have faltered over price.
Friends Provident added 1.6p to 165p, extending gains seen on Monday after reports suggested the firm was considering a sale as part of a group-wide review launched after its failed £8.6 billion merger with Resolution.
Retailers were also on the front foot with Next up 55p at 1670p ahead of an update due tomorrow and expected to cover the key Christmas period.
Analysts are hoping that the group’s revamped shops and new ranges will have seen a better performance than last year.
Marks & Spencer’s store revamp programme is also being seen as a possible boost to Christmas trading, with shares up 8p today at 568p.
But Argos-owner Home Retail Group suffered as fears persist over the prospects for retailers of “big ticket” items. Shares fell nearly 2%, or 5p to 323p.
Cairn Energy also featured high up on the fallers board, down 70p at 3004p after a downgrade from broker Oriel Securities as reports suggest an exploration well in Bangladesh was unsuccessful.
Miners continued falls seen in the final session of 2007, with Xstrata down another 59p at 3491p and Kazakhmys off 19p at 1352p.
However, a copper price rebound helped Vedanta Resources, which owns copper mines in Australia, to buck the sector trend, adding 40p to 2086p.
