London close: Top stocks end with strong gains
London's leading index built on its earlier gains at the close of play as a positive start on Wall Street leant further support.
US stocks surged by 109 points in early trades as investors across the pond welcomed the ceasefire between Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel.
Fund manager Schroders was the best performer as investors indulged in some bargain hunting after the 10% fall in its share price on Friday.
Bridgewell Securities also helped matters after it issued a note advising investors to switch into Schroders, as it upgraded the shares to "overweight" from "neutral" citing its defensive qualities.
Directories publisher Yell Group was also on an improving trend after UBS hiked its price target on the group to 480p from 460p. The Swiss broker kept its "reduce" advice though.
In other broker news, Merrill Lynch added Barclays to its Europe-1 portfolio list, slapping the shares with a "buy" recommendation, while Citigroup downgraded Vodafone to "hold" from "buy".
Enterprise Inns picked up on the sale of 769 pubs to Admiral Taverns for a total consideration of £318.1m, comprising £316.6m in cash and £1.5m in preference shares. The sale equates to 10% of Enterprise's estate.
Oil titan BP announced over the weekend that it would continue production from its Prudhoe bay oil field in Alaska, giving it a much needed boost.
BAE Systems gained on a report that the government is set to announce the sale of 72 Eurofighter Typhoons to Saudi Arabia, possibly as early as Wednesday. The contract is also expected to include a provision for BAE to supply long-term maintenance for the jets.
Real estate group Hammerson enjoyed gains as it exchanged contracts for the sale of Avenue Retail Park, Cardiff, to The Lanebridge Property Fund for £37.5m.
Support services group Interserve slumped after warning that a mis-statement of its accounts, which came to light after an internal review, would slash net assets by £25m.
White collar recruitment specialist Michael Page lifted interim profits by 50% to £45.2m from £30.5m on revenues up by a quarter to £312m. "The outlook remains positive and we remain confident of sustained progress into the second half of the year," the company said in a statement.
Patientline, the struggling hospital bedside phone operator, has parted company with managing director Colin Babb. He will leave the company and will cease to be a director on 18 August.
Voice recognition firm Eckoh Technologies announced that it has received an approach, following speculation in the press of a £50m offer.
Randolph Lerner, owner of the Cleveland Browns American football team, has tabled a recommended offer for Aston Villa worth 547p in cash and valuing the premiership team at £62.6m.
US suitor Middleby announced that it has decided against bidding for kitchen equipment manufacturer Enodis.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Schroders (SDR) 929.00p +6.54%
Schroders Nv (SDRC) 871.00p +6.09%
Drax (DRX) 972.50p +2.96%
ICAP (IAP) 462.00p +2.78%
Unilever (ULVR) 1,219.00p +2.44%
Wolseley (WOS) 1,086.00p +2.16%
Barclays (BARC) 649.00p +2.12%
William Morrison (MRW) 224.75p +2.04%
Kelda (KEL) 831.50p +1.90%
British Airways (BAY) 377.00p +1.89%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
PartyGaming (PRTY) 105.25p -3.44%
Corus Group (CS.) 381.75p -1.67%
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Xstrata (XTA) 2,220.00p -1.46%
Carnival Corporation (CCL) 2,023.00p -1.03%
ITV (ITV) 103.50p -0.96%
BT Group (BT.A) 240.50p -0.93%
Tesco (TSCO) 370.75p -0.67%
Scottish and Newcastle (SCTN) 543.00p -0.55%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 163.25p -0.31%
Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) 359.25p -0.21%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Berkeley Group Holdings Units (BKG) 1,270.00p +4.79%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 345.00p +4.55%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,605.00p +3.28%
Bodycote (BOY) 238.00p +3.25%
Amlin (AML) 245.00p +3.16%
Stanley Leisure (SLY) 619.50p +3.16%
Dimension Data (DDT) 34.00p +3.03%
SCI Entertainment (SEG) 479.00p +3.01%
Cattles Holdings (CTT) 334.50p +2.92%
BBA Group (BBA) 261.25p +2.85%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Interserve (IRV) 281.00p -21.07%
Michael Page (MPI) 310.00p -4.83%
Enodis (ENO) 164.00p -2.96%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 112.00p -2.61%
Dana Petroleum (DNX) 1,276.50p -2.33%
MFI Furniture Group (MFI) 86.00p -2.27%
Charter (CHTR) 759.50p -2.25%
Savills (SVS) 506.00p -2.13%
Electra Private Equity (ELTA) 1,342.00p -2.04%
Burren Energy (BUR) 899.00p -1.91%
