London equities markets were in record territory again on Thursday as the FTSE 100 established another five-year high when it closed up slightly to 6,045.7 and the FTSE 250 added 0.2 percent to end at another all-time high. Volume was at 3.6 billion shares traded.
Utilities ere up after Deutsche Bank issued positive comments on British Energy, which gained 2.4 percent to 694p. National Grid gained 1.1 percent to 578½p, while International Power added 1.3 percent to 291¾p.
Deutsche Bank also helped Corus with an upgraded recommendation, from “hold” to “buy” and a target share price increase from 80p to 100p. The steel maker added 2.6 percent to 89¼p. In other metals, high prices helped copper miner Kazakhmys add 3.1 percent to £12.69. Platinum company Johnson Matthey advanced by 4.9 percent to £15.10.
The banking sector was mixed on bid news. Decreasing talk of an offer took Allaince & Leicester down 2.8 percent to £11.61, but Barclays was up 1.2 percent to 686p on new rumors that Citigroup is considering a bid.
Vodafone added 0.6 percent to 124½p on speculation that the mobile phone group was thinking about entering the fixed line telecommunications market.
In the insurance sector, Prudential gained 4 percent to 677 ½ p on talk that Axa might make a bid. Analysts were mixed on exactly how serious the rumors were, with some saying that some investors could gain on the mere speculation that an offer might be forthcoming.
The online gaming sector was up after indications that efforts in the US to make gambling online illegal were not gathering a great deal of support. PartyGaming added 10 percent to 142½p, while 888 Holdings gained 8.6 percent to 240p and Sportingbet was up 10.6 percent to 421p.