Markets: Man outruns general market bounce

HEDGE fund Man Group was the biggest riser in the FTSE 100 yesterday, as a positive broker note and talk that it could be a takeover target helped it outperform a minor market recovery.

UBS reiterated its “buy” recommendation on the shares and revealed the firm was on its M&A watchlist. It described the hedge fund as a “likely take-out candidate” with any offer expected to be at least 50 per cent above the current share price.

Shares in Man Group added nearly 5 per cent to 97p.

The wider market lifted as investors bought into the low prices left by Monday’s sell off, with the Footsie closing 43.9 points higher at 5,709,5.

Angus Campbell, head of market analysis at Capital Spreads, said: “A rebound nearly didn’t materialise until the US markets opened up and lifted European indices from their lows.”

Britain’s banks led the rally, as broker Shore Capital said that it was “moderating its stance” on the sector in view of this year’s moves by the European Central Bank. Shore highlighted Barclays’ potential to beat expectations for short-term earnings thanks to a more favourable investment banking performance. Barclays and Lloyds both gained more than 3 per cent, at 211p and 30.6p respectively.

Other stocks gaining from positive broker comment included British Airways owner IAG, after being upgraded to “neutral” by Credit Suisse. Its shares added 6.1p at 168.7p.

Among Scottish stocks, oil firm Bowleven hailed a new income stream with a memorandum of understanding to supply natural gas to a factory in Cameroon. Its shares jumped 9 per cent to 88p. But insulation maker Superglass shed nearly 17 per cent to 14.75p after it called on the UK government to help the housing supplies sector.

New York: The Dow and the S&P 500 rose last night after strong earnings and upbeat outlooks from big manufacturers like 3M, but a slide in Apple ahead of its results drove the Nasdaq down.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 74.39 points, or 0.58 per cent, to end at 13,001.56 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 5.03 points, or 0.37 per cent, to finish at 1,371.97. But the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 8.85 points, or 0.30 per cent, to close at 2,961.60.