Market report - Friday close

By THIS IS MONEY
Updated:

 

Investors in Bhs and Mothercare stores group Storehouse have had little to cheer about in recent years, so it was sighs of relief all round when the firm prospect of a takeover emerged.Shares jumped a mighty 56% as the company announced it had received a number of approaches. The group closed up 17 3/4 p to 49 1/2 p as analysts did some quick calculations of a fair takeout price.Bidders could include overseas groups like clothing chain H&M.Archie Norman's Knutsford, up 5p to 125p also sprung to mind.

The FTSE-100 Index had a storming end to the week, shrugging off a bearish Dow Jones industrial average to close up 111.3 at 6198.This was a mere 33 points higher than last week's Friday close.

Telecoms and tech stocks fuelled much of the session's gains, with the Techmark 100 surging another 55 points ahead. The US Nasdaq was proving resilient to the industrial index's falls and stayed up at super-high levels.

Vodafone AirTouch jumped 8 3/4 p to 361 3/4 p and BT gained 53p to £11.52.Cable & Wireless also gained - up 103 1/2 p to £13.98 - and Colt Telecom was up 293p to £37.40p.

Microchip designer ARM Holdings was up 568p to £48.82 and IT outfit Sema put on 48p at £13.41.

NatWest gained 14p to £10.70 after reporting a rise in profits.The bank's chairman Sir David Rowland also pledged to help its new owner, hostile bidder Royal Bank of Scotland, merge the two companies.RBS was also ahead - up 5p to 704p.

Centrica, part of the former British Gas, was helped by a broker upgrade and continued yesterday's rises to add 30 1/4 p to 212 1/4 p.The group had yesterday unveiled plans to become a telecoms company, offering fixed line and mobile phone networks and internet access.

Hotel and gaming group Hilton continued its rises on the back of its recent move into internet betting - adding a further 35p to 244p. It is soon likely to have a rival on the stock market to its Ladbrokes betting arm in the form of Coral, which is currently considering a flotation.

And drugs group AstraZeneca regained some of yesterday's losses, when it fell on worries about patent expiries on its blockbuster Losec drug.Shares gained 190p to £21.16p as the bargain hunters moved in.

Among the smaller stocks, Trafficmaster jumped 122p to £11.00 - a 12% rise - after announcing a link-up with Blaupunkt to expand its car navigation systems into Europe.

Cox Insurance soared 67p to 230p after announcing it would provide an insurance service via Internet company Yahoo.

Biotechnology group Oxford Glycosciences also shot up - gaining 517 1/2 p to £23.40. The group is to raise £33.2 million via a share placing to aid research.And computer group ITNet jumped 135p to 987 1/2 p on news it was launching a online service linking the local government to suppliers.But chocolates-to-toffee makersThorntons fell 15p to 132 1/2 p after saying profits for the year were likely to fall short of last year.

Share risers on the Footsie were Hilton up 35p to 244p, Centrica up 30 1/4 p to 212 1/4 p and ARM Holdings up 568p to £48.82.Fallers were Reed International down 45 1/4 p to 503p, Anglo American down 207p to £30.34 and South African Breweries down 31p at 476p.

Most watched Money videos