The FTSE 100 opened up 0.18% or 9.37 points to 5,204.65 boosted by bid activity in the financial sector.
Old Mutual's shares soared on news it had received an offer from HSBC for up to 70% of South African bank Nedbank. It was up 4.55% to 126.5p. Other early morning risers included BHP Billiton, advancing 1.29% to £18.44, while Cairn Energy rose 1.28% to 466p. Meanwhile, SABMiller led index fallers, down 1.16% to £18.29, followed by BP which dropped 0.99% to 384.5p. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones fell 0.56% or 57.59 points to 10,213.62 on persistent concerns the recovery has tapered off. Thursday's gloomy jobs and regional manufacturing data remained in the forefront as investors de...
To continue reading this article...
Join Investment Week for free
Signup and gain exclusive members-only insights - all free of charge!
- Unlimited access to real-time news, analysis and opinion from the investment industry, including the Sustainable Hub covering fund news from the ESG space
- Get ahead of regulatory and technological changes affecting fund management
- Important and breaking news stories selected by the editors delivered straight to your inbox each day
- Weekly members-only newsletter with exclusive opinion pieces from leading industry experts
- Be the first to hear about our extensive events schedule and awards programmes
