Footsie benefits from New York rally
A late rally in New York today helped the London market shrug off the weakness that hit its performance last week.
Strong gains by banking stocks and takeover talk in the lower tiers contributed to the FTSE 100 Index closing 42.8 points higher at 4736.8.
Better-than-expected retail sales data in the United States also gave a late-afternoon boost, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average around 27 points higher by closing time in London.
But one analyst warned that tomorrow’s inflation data due out in the UK could hit shares if it is stronger than expected.
In London, Lloyds TSB surged to the top of the risers board with a 4% or 15p gain to 443p after saying it was on track to make further earnings progress in 2005 in spite of a slowdown in consumer borrowing.
Its comments triggered rises in a host of banking rivals such as Northern Rock, up 19p at 775.5p, Royal Bank of Scotland which was 42p stronger at 1720p and HBOS, advancing 14p to 776p.
Cairn Energy, on the other hand, was one of the main losers after weekend press reports cast doubt over the company’s ability to sustain its recent run of oil finds in India.
Shares in Cairn, which rose on Friday after it said it would report on its drilling activities at the end of this week, dipped 11p to 1430p.
Rival BP was also in the red – off 1.5p to 511p – but Shell was lifted by an increase in the cost of crude oil back above the 41 dollars mark in New York. It added 1.25p to 436p.
Shire Pharmaceuticals advanced 4.5p to 527.5p after saying that US regulators had backed its Equetro treatment for manic depression to be added to prescription lists. The Basingstoke-based group said doctors would gain access to the drug in the first quarter of next year.
The London Stock Exchange saw its shares move to the top of the FTSE 250 index after saying it had received, but turned down, an offer from Deutsche Boerse. The stock rose 26% or 110p to 540p.
It was followed by building supplies-to-cheque printing group Novar, which rose 14% or 23.5p to 189p after agreeing to be taken over by US giant Honeywell for £798 million.
Shares in gym operator LA Fitness also raced ahead, up 15% or 32p to 246.5p, after it confirmed it had received a number of potential takeover approaches.
Among companies reporting results, Photo-Me International cheered 4% or 4p to 97p after demand for digital minilabs helped it post half-year profits ahead of expectations.
The highest Footsie climbers today were Lloyds TSB up 15p to 443p, Reed Elsevier adding 12.5p to 476.5p, ITV up 2.75p to 105.5p and Northern Rock adding 19p to 775.5p.
The heaviest fallers were AstraZeneca down 26p to 2080p, Schroders NV falling 6.5p to 645p, BAT off 8p to 884p and Rolls-Royce down 2.25p to 251.75p.
