London close: US rally inspires charge
Bumper gains in the US had London's blue chips storming higher through the afternoon, with PartyGaming enjoying the best of the rally and just a handful of players closing in the red.
The online poker group topped the risers, recovering strongly from last week's sell off as brokers remained positive following last Friday's Key Performance Indicators.
Index heavyweight Vodafone also did well as the mobile giant added a net 4.5m new customers, marginally ahead of forecasts, in the first quarter of its financial year and reiterated its full-year guidance.
Organic growth was 6.4% for the quarter in total proportionate mobile revenue, with 1.3% growth in Europe.
Expansion into China helped SABMiller as it said its associate, China Resources Snow Breweries, has agreed to buy Yinyen Brewery for $42.3m.
Plumbing giant Wolseley pushed ahead after agreeing to buy Scandinavian building materials supplier DT Group from CVC Capital for about £1bn plus debt of about £330m. The consideration is in cash.
Insurance giant Aviva enjoyed gains after it received regulatory approval for its joint venture company to establish a branch based in south central China.
Oil and gas group BG fell though as the group reported net second-quarter earnings slightly below expectations, up 18% to £325m, on the back of weaker than expected exploration and production.
Also feeling the pinch was Reckitt Benckiser as investors took profits despite news that its Boots Healthcare acquisition is continuing to perform ahead of expectations. The group said Q2 revenues rose 19% to £1.22bn while net income rose 5% to £151m.
Reports that Charles Allen is considering his position as chief executive of ITV led the broadcaster higher today as it renewed takeover hopes. UBS kept its "buy" advice on the shares.
Similarly, hotel and leisure group Whitbread led the second liners on the back of reports that it is facing a possible bid from Starwood Capital. Press talk suggested the US firm was considering a £3bn plus takeover.
Housebuilder Barratt expects to deliver pre-tax profit in line with City expectations. Overall, buyer confidence improved over the year and remains steady with selling prices having risen in line with incomes. Total reservations are now 8% better than a year ago.
Radio broadcaster GCap Media warned that a worsening advertising market is set to continue well into July and August. The group said July is expected to be down 14%.
Spread betting firm IG Group posted a strong rise in annual pre-tax profit and issued a maiden 4p dividend. Pre-tax profit more than doubled to £51.1m for the year to May while turnover rose to £89.4m from £62.2m the previous year.
Rationalisation among the UK dairy groups has taken another step with the sale of Arla Foods' doorstep milk delivery business to Dairy Crest for £33m.
Troubled music group Sanctuary today rebuffed an all-share approach made by its smaller rival MAMA but said it would agree to meet in principle.
Iron ore exploration company Mount Gibson has made an unsolicited takeover offer for mining firm Aztec Resources.
Billing Services slumped after it said discussions regarding a possible management buy-out had ended and warned of a number of negative impacts on its second half.
But Ocean Power Technologies powered ahead as the renewable energy technology group filed an application for a permit for a 50MW wave power generation project in Oregon, USA.
FTSE 100 - Risers
PartyGaming (PRTY) 104.50p +8.01%
ICAP (IAP) 486.00p +5.88%
SABMiller (SAB) 1,029.50p +5.59%
Amvescap (AVZ) 481.25p +4.85%
Liberty International (LII) 1,138.00p +4.79%
Schroders Nv (SDRC) 892.50p +4.51%
British Land (BLND) 1,344.00p +4.43%
Schroders (SDR) 944.00p +4.08%
British Airways (BAY) 373.00p +4.04%
Legal & General (LGEN) 129.25p +4.02%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
BG Group (BG.) 696.50p -1.97%
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Reckitt Benckiser (RB.) 2,056.00p -0.96%
Yell Group (YELL) 520.00p -0.67%
Corus Group (CS.) 405.75p -0.31%
BOC Group (BOC) 1,600.00p +0.06%
Lonmin (LMI) 2,730.00p +0.18%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 390.75p +0.32%
BSkyB (BSY) 543.00p +0.37%
Enterprise Inns (ETI) 966.50p +0.52%
Carnival Corporation (CCL) 2,104.00p +0.57%
FTSE 250 - Risers
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 215.00p +6.44%
Whitbread (WTB) 1,244.00p +6.14%
Hunting (HTG) 368.75p +5.58%
Investec (INVP) 2,686.00p +4.92%
Cable and Wireless (CW.) 114.00p +4.59%
Great Portland Estates (GPOR) 549.00p +4.52%
888 Holdings (888) 158.00p +4.46%
Brixton (BXTN) 503.25p +4.41%
Workspace Group (WKP) 395.00p +4.29%
Wetherspoon (JDW) 437.25p +3.92%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
GCAP Media (GCAP) 197.50p -7.49%
Colt Telecom (COLT) 122.00p -4.13%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 143.75p -3.52%
Renishaw (RSW) 800.00p -2.56%
Bodycote (BOY) 224.00p -2.29%
SVG Capital Ord £1 (SVI) 760.00p -1.68%
SCI Entertainment (SEG) 443.00p -1.56%
PayPoint (PAY) 584.00p -1.52%
MFI Furniture Group (MFI) 87.75p -1.13%
Merril Lynch World Mining Trust (MLW) 394.25p -0.94%
