London close: Footsie closes well in the blue
A good start on Wall St and vague bid talk saw Footsie close in good spirits, though off its best for the day.
Platinum refiner Johnson Matthey led the risers on reports of a bid from US giant Dow Chemicals, while ITV is also said to be in play following the possibility of a big chunk of shares coming onto the market from rival BSkyB.
The satellite broadcaster will have to cut its 17.9% stake in the terrestrial broadcaster if the government decides to act on a recommendation from the Competition Commission. The Commission's report recommends that the satellite broadcaster should reduce its stake to below 7.5% and should not take a seat on the ITV board.
Carphone Warehouse is among the best performers on hopes that sales will rally in the holiday season, while a Deutsche Bank 'buy' note and 850p price target cheered ad giant WPP.
Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC are going well, but Northern Rock has fallen following yesterday's gains on reports that mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley is mulling a bid for its rival.
Significantly higher fuel costs sank fourth quarter net income at Carnival Thursday, but the cruises giant sailed higher as both profit and revenue topped forecasts.
Tullow Oil is the worst-performing blue chip by some margin, after drilling in Uganda suggested reserves may be less than previously indicated.
Persimmon fell in sympathy with a Citigroup downgraded of its UK house price estimates for 2008 and 2009. The US broker also cut its target price for Barratt Developments to 500p from 570p. Taylor Woodrow and Persimmon are also lower.
Shares in Keller are up after the engineering specialist said it expects results for the full-year to be slightly ahead of the top end of market expectations. "2007 will be another excellent year for Keller and our strong order book leaves us well placed for 2008," said chief executive Justin Atkinson.
Sportswear group Sports Direct also rallied strongly after yesterday's disappointing figures. This morning Sports Direct said it would not oppose a bid for rival Umbro from Nike. Sports Direct has just under a 30% stake in Umbro.
Pub group Marston's fell on a gloomy assessment of prospects for the sector in 2008 from broker JP Morgan.
Port operator and property firm Forth Ports sees overall group result for the year ending 31 December in line with expectations.
Sthree announced that it is in the process of appointing a new chief financial officer after Michael Nelson has stepped down.
Hydraulic lift rental specialist Lavendon said its performance during 2007 is set to be ahead of expectations, adding that it is confident of further 'significant' progress in 2008.
McBride, which specialises in own label household and personal care products, expects first-half operating margins to be below that in the comparable period last year due to high raw material costs.
Canada's Peace Arch Entertainment is considering making an offer for London-based film and television sales company ContentFilm worth 20p a share.
Engineering company Senior is to acquire Los Angeles based aero-engine components supplier Capo.
Erinaceous is in demand on a report in the Telegraph that James Caan, the entrepreneur who sits on the panel of BBC2's Dragons' Den, is studying the possibility of making an offer for some or all of embattled property services company.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,836.00p +5.34%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 1,980.00p +3.56%
DSG International (DSGI) 102.80p +3.52%
Compass Group (CPG) 322.75p +3.12%
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WPP Group (WPP) 630.50p +3.11%
ICAP (IAP) 699.00p +2.72%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Tullow Oil (TLW) 630.00p -3.08%
British Energy Group (BGY) 517.00p -1.80%
Persimmon (PSN) 775.50p -1.59%
Experian Group (EXPN) 388.50p -1.58%
Centrica (CNA) 351.00p -1.34%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 441.00p -1.34%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Sports Direct International (SPD) 114.25p +13.12%
Ultra Electronics Holdings (ULE) 1,246.00p +7.51%
BlueBay Asset Management (BBAY) 355.50p +6.76%
National Express Group (NEX) 1,228.00p +6.60%
Southern Cross Healthcare Group (SCHE) 560.00p +6.06%
Chemring Group (CHG) 2,077.00p +5.81%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Marston's (MARS) 311.00p -2.74%
Premier Foods (PFD) 198.75p -2.57%
Henderson Group (HGI) 123.50p -2.56%
Brit Insurance Holding (BRE) 222.00p -2.31%
Aquarius Platinum (AQP) 539.50p -2.18%
ITE Group (ITE) 159.00p -2.00%
