Morning Markets: Unilever deal boosts FTSE

A $3.7bn acquisition by consumer products giant Unilever led European markets higher in early Monday trade, the FTSE 100 adding 0.2%.

The cash deal for US-based Alberto Culver helped Unilever gain more than 2.6% to £18.40 and saw London's leading index ease 0.18% higher to 5,608. Elsewhere, the French Cac and German Dax also advanced, by 0.31% and 0.26% respectively. In London, miner Kazakhmys climbed 1.76% to £14.46 while there were also early gains for Weir Group and Prudential. Engineering firm Smiths Group lost almost 2% to £12 ahead of its full-year figures on Wednesday and amid mounting speculation it may be broken up in an effort to drive shareholder value. AstraZeneca lost 1% to £32.99, while there wer...