Market report: Friday close

By TOM NICHOLLS
Updated:

 

The momentum of this week's commodity-shares-driven rally lifted the FTSE 100 index above 6000 points today for the first time since May.

The midcap FTSE 250 index also broke above 10,000 for the first time in four months as stock market sentiment continued to strengthen. But the FTSE 100's stay at that level was short lived. After topping out at 6002.9, it was unable to sustain the pace and sagged 10.5 to 5960.8. The Dow, which was 6.08 points lower at 11,712.37 offered little in the way of fresh encouragement.

Building materials group Hanson, up 27½p at 773½p, led the Footsie after Citigroup and ABN Amro reiterated their buy recommendations on the stock amid rumours that a 1150p bid for the company may be in the offing.

Tittle-tattle in the market has had it that Goldman may launch a bid for Man Group, up 4¾p at 448p. You can see why. The hedge fund giant today said management fees over the past six months have grown 35%, performance fees 25% and brokerage fees 40%.

Goldman Sachs has upped its target on Marks & Spencer to 712p from 691p, retaining its buy rating. The shares closed steady at 642½p, the company's performance contrasting starkly with that of Sir Philip Green's Bhs stores, where profits have halved.

A surprise slowdown in trading over the past couple of months has hit sales at Jessops stores. Overall like-for-like sales for the half year to 24 September were up 3.6% but once soaring online transactions were taken out of the equation, sales were down 1.2%. But the photographic retailer, off 9p at 129½p, said profit for the year to end-September should be in line with its forecasts.

Among today's top-flight losers was BG Group after it emerged that chief executive Frank Chapman has cashed in £2.9m of company shares, selling 440,000 and reducing his holding by about half. Executive director Ashley Almanza sold 395,000 shares, and they dipped 11p to 649p.

An earthquake today off Trinidad could be further bad news for the company, which has offshore exploration and production interests there and a stake in Trinidad's Atlantic LNG plant.

Meanwhile, investors continue to wonder whether the £5.7bn bid for Anglian Water Group is coming. The company's shares advanced 7p to 1535p after a trading statement saying it had shrugged off the effects of this year's so called drought and performed materially above management expectations in the half year to the end of September.

But there was no word from the board on how close it is to recommending an offer. A consortium of Australian infrastructure investors Colonial First State and Industry Funds Management, the cash-rich Canadian pension fund CPP and British venture capital firm 3i is reckoned to have talked of a 1550pa-share bid.

Despite this deal having been expected to go through a week ago, AWG is sticking to its line that there is no certainty any offer will be made. AWG's board could of course be holding out for more.

Drinks group Britvic, which has warned on profits twice this year, has said full-year results should be toward the top end of expectations. The shares rose 11¾p to 231¾p.

Most watched Money videos