In London on Thursday, equities markets bounced back after Wednesday’s losses as the FTSE 100 gained 0.7 percent to 5,855.9 and the FTSE 250 was up 0.8 percent to 9,381.1.
The pharmaceuticals sector provided a positive influence as AstraZeneca rose 4.4 percent to £28.32 on talk that Swiss company Novartis is thinking of bidding for the company. GlaxoSmithKline also was up on the day, by 1.5 percent to £15.59, on an upgrade to “buy” from Deutsche Bank and on the news that it has filed for European approval for Cervarix, its vaccine against cervical cancer.
The supermarket sector was mixed. Tesco dropped 0.9 percent to 329p, largely due to the fact that as the largest company in the sector it has the most to lose in a government probe into the sector’s competitive practices. Elsewhere in the sector, however, J Sainsbury gained 0.6 percent to 319½p, while Wm Morrison added 1.2 percent to 207p.
Music and book retailer HMV was up 5.4 percent to 192p on rumors that private equity group Permira has upped its bid for the company.
British Airways was up 3.8 percent to 328½p on the news that it plans to save £450 million over two years.
Airport operator BAA was down by 6.7 percent to 775p on rumors that Spanish construction company Grupo Ferrovial is having second thoughts about its plans to bid for the owner of Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports. Ferrovial insists that its plans have not changed.