HOUSEBUILDERS were yesterday big market winners as the City placed a huge bet on the Bank of England cutting interest rates.
Taylor Wimpey topped the bluechip risers with a 15p increase to 203p, while Barratt Developments and Persimmon advanced 26p to 467p and 36p to 796p respectively. Despite this, Taylor Wimpey and particularly Barratt, remain favourites to be relegated from the top flight at next week quarterly index reshuffle, following a disastrous few months for the sector.
Hopes that borrowing costs will come down today also provided a fillip for retailers, with electricals group DSG International marked up 6p to 115p. Argos owner Home Retail Group added 16p to 363p while B & Q operator Kingfisher was up 7p to 158p.
GlaxoSmithKline perked up 16p to 1304p amid speculation it was mulling a bid for Danish pharma company Genmab. Rumours persisted of more mega-mergers in the mining sector, where Anglo American, 155p richer at 3273p,was again being linked with Xstrata, up 138p to 3458p. BHP Billiton firmed 84p to 1647p and Vedanta Resources climbed 120p to 2344p.
Insurer Standard Life fell to 258p in early trading before rebounding to close 7p higher at 270p. Broker Merrill Lynch cut its rating from buy to neutral and added the failed Resolution bid exposed questions over the sustainability of organic growth , cash flow and management credibility.
Only seven of the UK top 100 quoted companies failed to make progress as the FTSE 100 index soared 178.6 points to 6493.8.
Oil services outfit Abbot Group 26p spurt to 351p prompted talk that a predator was closing in on a deal.
Venture capitalist 3i Group, 14p ahead at 1047p, was originally tipped as the frontrunner with a mooted offer of 375p. But traders reckon private equity firm Candover or US-based oil and energy specialist First Reserve are more likely to seal a takeover.
Waste group Biffa rose 11p to 336p after it rejected a new bid at 330p, or 1.1billion, from Montagu Private Equity and HgCapital.
The dramatic rise in Colt Telecom fortunes during the past week amid speculation that US giant AT & T could bid extended a further 21p to 206p, while rehashed stakebuilding rumours underpinned property group Quintain Estates, up 46p to 601p.
Investors lost their appetite for food companies on worries over the impact of higher ingredient costs. Northern Foods was 2p lighter at 87p, while Dairy Crest and Premier Food lost 6p to 545p and 2p to 187p respectively. Broadcast equipment firm Vislink was steady at 49pas it announced two orders for its US broadcast business Microwave Radio Communication worth $25 million (12.3 million).
Shares in recruitment firm OPD rose 23p to 228p, after it said annual profits would not be less than 15 million. The information was contained in an offer document as part of its bid for rival Imprint, 1/4p higher at 94p. But another suitor, Hydrogen Group, steady at 260p, urged Imprint investors not to take any action on OPD offer.
Investors switched on to set-top boxes developer Amino Technologies, up 5p to 56p, on the back of a bullish trading update International Real Estate was Flat at 287p, despite boardroom buying.
FoaMasters International, which makes polyurethane flexible foam and finished products, gained 2p to 39p on its first day of trading on the junior Aim market.
(Source: Daily Express – 6th December, 2007)