Markets: Takeover talk drives utilities shares

UTILITIES companies were in demand on the London Stock Exchange tonight as rumours of takeover plans emerged.

Water company United Utilities was up 5 per cent to 722.5p, after being boosted by reports that an infrastructure consortium including Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds are mulling a takeover bid.

Other utilities companies benefited, with Pennon up 31p at 766.5p, and Severn Trent ahead 58p at 1,766p.

The wider market was also on the front foot as economic figures from France and Germany came in ahead of expectations and US retail sales posted double the forecast growth rate.

Rupert Osborne, futures dealer at IG Index, said: “In recent days investors have grown used to sessions with little news flow, but finally we have had something weightier to contend with.”

The FTSE 100 Index rose 32.9 points to 5,864.8. Edinburgh-based Standard Life was the biggest riser after revealing a big improvement at its UK arm. With group profits up 15 per cent, the shares added 8 per cent or 20.7p to 277.4p.

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca was also ahead after it lifted full-year earnings targets thanks to a multi-million pound deal to sell marketing rights for its heartburn pill to US rival 
Pfizer. Shares were 19p up at 3,012.5p.

Outside the top flight, shares in London cab-maker Manganese Bronze plunged 34 per cent after it said its first half net loss was expected to be “substantially higher” than reported last year as an IT blunder had left it with a £3.9 million hole in its accounts. Shares fell 8.5p to 16.5p.

Aberdeen-based Wood Group’s stock added 10p to 826.5p as oil prices found support in the US retail figures.

NEW YORK: Wall Street moved higher Tuesday after a surprising gain in retail sales in July provided more evidence that American shoppers are still spending even as their counterparts in Europe and Asia slow down.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 29.08 points, or 0.22 per cent, at 13,198.51 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 3.46 points, or 0.25 per cent, at 1,407.57. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 5.98 points, or 0.20 per cent, at 3,028.50.