London close: Wall Street pulls Footsie lower
London's top stocks ended a mixed session in the red as Wall Street started lower but things could have been worse had it not been for the bumper gains at bid target ICI.
ICI soared after it rejected an approach from Akzo Nobel, pitched at 600p per share, as too low. Akzo added that ICI would represent a highly attractive addition to its focused coatings and chemicals.
Aerospace and defence firm Smiths Group was down heavily, while miners Rio Tinto, Antofagasta and Xstrata also weighed. Household Goods was another sector to wallow in negative territory, with Persimmon and Barratt Developments both down.
Another sector to rise on M&A hopes is Food & Drug Retailers. J Sainsbury is up on weekend press rumours that Qatari investment group Delta (Two) could make a full bid for the supermarket group. Tesco and Morrison are up in sympathy.
BHP Billiton edged up on a report that it has dusted off its bid plans for US group Alcoa. FT owner Pearson, meanwhile, was down on reports it is drumming up support for a move on Dow Jones, according to weekend papers.
Engine maker Rolls-Royce signed its largest-ever civil engine order with Qatar Airways worth $5.6bn at list prices. It also announced a raft of other deals at the Paris airshow, including a $1.8bn deal with US Airways.
SABMiller was cheered higher Monday after Merrill Lynch upgraded the brewing giant to 'buy' from 'hold' with 1,400p price target.
Away from Footsie, oil group Tullow Oil rocketed higher as it announced a significant oil find off the coast of Ghana
GKN stormed ahead as Lehman Brothers lifted shares in the engineer to 'overweight' from 'underweight' and hiked its price target to 450p, while money lender Cattles said it is trading ahead of expectations, with stable credit quality maintained and demand for the group's products remaining strong.
Engineer Senior expects adjusted profit before tax for the first half of 2007 to be ahead of forecasts, driven by "very healthy" aerospace markets, despite the impact of the weaker dollar.
Software firm iSOFT has finally reached agreement with CSC over the change in control of iSOFT that would result from its merger with Australian group IBA. Accordingly, iSOFT has agreed to terminate legal proceedings regarding CSC withholding consent and the merger with IBA looks set to proceed.
Hitachi Capital announced details of a recommended offer worth 265p per share for the 35% of specialist lender Hitachi Capital (UK) it does not already.
Computer game developer SCi Entertainment is claiming a first for its new Lara Croft game by releasing it in downloadable episodes on Microsoft's Xbox 360 console.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) 634.50p +15.57%
SABMiller (SAB) 1,278.00p +1.35%
Reuters Group (RTR) 640.00p +1.11%
Rolls-Royce Group (RR.) 552.00p +0.96%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,369.00p +0.81%
Capita Group (CPI) 734.00p +0.75%
Scottish & Newcastle (SCTN) 640.00p +0.71%
Diageo (DGE) 1,094.00p +0.60%
Experian (EXPN) 620.50p +0.57%
Man Group (EMG) 621.00p +0.49%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Kelda (KEL) 975.00p -3.60%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,233.00p -3.37%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 1,046.00p -2.70%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,326.00p -2.64%
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Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,179.00p -2.48%
British Airways (BAY) 436.00p -2.24%
Liberty International (LII) 1,177.00p -2.24%
Punch Taverns (PUB) 1,304.00p -1.95%
Shire (SHP) 1,201.00p -1.80%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 687.50p -1.72%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Domestic and General (DGG) 1,300.00p +12.85%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 460.25p +12.53%
ITE Group (ITE) 183.25p +10.39%
Hochschild Mining PLC Ord 50p (WI) (HOC) 337.00p +4.66%
De La Rue (DLAR) 797.50p +3.30%
Dimension Data (DDT) 58.25p +3.10%
PartyGaming (PRTY) 40.00p +2.56%
Biffa (BIFF) 309.25p +2.32%
Hays (HAS) 178.50p +2.15%
Invensys (ISYS) 382.75p +2.07%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Avis Europe (AVE) 56.50p -5.83%
Carpetright (CPR) 1,263.00p -5.75%
Workspace Group (WKP) 416.75p -4.47%
Assura Group (AGR) 235.00p -4.08%
Topps Tiles (TPT) 245.00p -3.92%
Taylor Woodrow (TWOD) 415.75p -3.71%
Premier Farnell (PFL) 210.50p -3.55%
Wimpey (George) (WMPY) 576.00p -3.36%
Ladbrokes (LAD) 444.50p -3.32%
Paragon Group (PAG) 546.00p -3.28%
