London close: Vodafone powers Footsie higher
London regained some poise late in the session as Wall Street hit another all-time high, while UK index heavyweight Vodafone helped cancel mining sector losses.
Anglo-Dutch steel group Corus was among the leading risers on rumours that India's Tata Steel is in talks with the management team regarding a possible 580p per share offer.
Barclays also moved ahead after a report in French newspaper La Tribune suggested US peer Citigroup was looking to merge with a European rival and had the UK lender on its list. Lloyds TSB joined the advance.
In addition, ABN Amro repeated "buy" advice on Barclays and upped its price target to 850p, while Tate & Lyle stormed ahead after Merrill Lynch raised it to "buy" from "neutral".
Vodafone was among the biggest gainers after its analyst and investor briefing on its Spanish and Italian operations yesterday, which attendants described as being upbeat.
Oil users were among the winners with US November crude dropping below $59 a barrel after data highlighted rising US crude supplies. British Airways and Carnival both finished strongly.
BP recovered early losses depsite reporting production down to 3.8m barrels of oil equivalent per day in the third quarter, reflecting problems at its Alaskan fields.
Excluding volumes from TNK-BP operations, production in the third quarter is expected to be around 2,850 mboed, versus 3,019 mboed in the previous three months, BP said.
A string of ex-dividends capped gains as power supplier Drax, insurer Friends Provident and plumbing supplies firm Wolseley all traded without the right to the latest payout.
PartyGaming slumped to yet another all time low on reports that it will need to renegotiate a new credit facility with its banks within 30 days of President George W Bush signing into law the anti-gambling bill.
Meanwhile a drop in commodity prices overnight pushed the miners lower as gold futures fell $21 an ounce and copper fell 4.3%. BHP Billiton, Anglo American, Lonmin and Kazakhmys all ended in the red.
Hotel giant InterContinental said that revenue per available room rose 10.2% at its US InterContinental hotels in the eight months ending 31 August.
Grainger Trust was on the up again after the residential property owner and bid target today announced continued strong trading volumes.
Electro-optic group Gooch and Housego's trading for the full year is slightly ahead of market expectations following good performances by the group companies in improving market conditions.
Northgate Info Systems has confirmed that, following a number of unsolicited approaches, it is in discussions that may or may not lead to a formal offer being made for the company.
Drug group SkyePharma released an upbeat update on its Phase III clinical trial for rheumatoid arthritis drug Lodotra. SkyePharma has already applied for marketing authorisation in Europe, North America and the Far East.
Packaging group RPC expects to deliver a profit performance comparable with last year, on a like-for-like basis, despite trading conditions made challenging by increasing costs and shortfalls in call-offs from some of its major supply contracts.
Global Natural Energy said discussions are no longer taking place regarding a possible offer for the Ukraine focused oil and gas company.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 767.00p +6.09%
Vodafone (VOD) 127.25p +4.09%
Corus Group (CS.) 407.50p +3.89%
British Airways (BAY) 450.25p +3.68%
Kingfisher (KGF) 260.50p +3.37%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 917.00p +3.15%
Tesco (TSCO) 384.75p +3.08%
Sainsbury (SBRY) 389.50p +2.91%
Alliance Boots (AB.) 794.50p +2.71%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 652.50p +2.59%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,053.00p -4.96%
(Article continues below)Advertisement
BHP Billiton plc (BLT) 870.00p -4.81%
British Energy Group (BGY) 556.00p -4.71%
Drax (DRX) 797.00p -3.80%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 1,776.00p -3.27%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,401.00p -3.19%
Xstrata (XTA) 2,180.00p -2.94%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,172.00p -2.25%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,185.00p -2.19%
International Power (IPR) 309.75p -1.98%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Northgate Information Solutions (NIS) 94.25p +7.10%
Grainger Trust (GRI) 622.50p +5.51%
Hiscox (HSX) 242.00p +4.65%
CSR (CSR) 789.00p +4.50%
United Business Media (UBM) 682.00p +4.36%
Colt Telecom (COLT) 135.25p +4.24%
Pendragon (PDG) 505.00p +3.80%
Savills (SVS) 549.50p +3.78%
Stagecoach Group (SGC) 131.50p +3.54%
Invensys (ISYS) 221.50p +3.50%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Dana Petroleum (DNX) 1,126.00p -3.76%
FKI (FKI) 91.75p -3.42%
Investec (INVP) 511.50p -3.40%
Regus Group (RGU) 102.50p -3.30%
Burren Energy (BUR) 807.50p -3.06%
Dimension Data (DDT) 33.50p -2.90%
Venture Production (VPC) 702.50p -2.77%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 359.25p -2.44%
Merril Lynch World Mining Trust (MLW) 379.25p -2.19%
Workspace Group (WKP) 401.25p -2.13%
