The London equities markets were higher on Thursday, helped out by better performance yesterday and today in the New York markets. The FTSE 100 added 1.99 percent to 5,791.5, while the FTSE 250 gained 1.1 percent to 9,303.5. There was a bit more activity, with 2.8 billion shares trading hands during the session.
In the banking sector, Lloyds TSB was up 2.3 percent to 529p amid rumors that Citibank was going to make an offer. HBOS advanced by 0.3 percent to 940p when Morgan Stanley successfully placed 12.5 million shares at that price on behalf of an institutional client.
Miners saw gains as Citigroup predicted that there would be further consolidation in the sector and as metals prices went higher. Xstrata gained 5.8 percent to £19.88, while Kazakhmys was up 5.9 percent to £11.76 and Vedanta Resources added 6.7 percent to £13.36.
The utilities sector, on the other hand, was down on the session. British Energy fell 0.4 percent to 671p, while Drax Group dropped 2.4 percent to 824p after the government released proposed quotas for the second phase of its Emissions Trading Scheme and ahead of its first-half trading report. The government plan allots Drax between 1 million and 1.5 million tonnes less in free allowances for emissions than had been expected.
In the pharmaceuticals sector, AstraZeneca was up 3.5 percent to £32.42 on an upgraded recommendation to “add” on better sales than expected for several of its products.
PartyGaming added 0.6 percent to 114¼p as rumors circulated that it will purchase a sports betting company.