Banking group HBOS was keeping the FTSE 100 Index in positive territory today by promising to roll its share buyback campaign into a second year.
The owner of Halifax and Bank of Scotland said it would buy £750m of its own stock in 2006 on top of the £1bn it has spent in the market this year.
Financial stocks gained as the trading update from HBOS also offered a positive assessment of UK economic outlook, helping the FTSE to climb 0.9 points to 5511.3 in the first hour of business.
Royal Bank of Scotland cheered 16p to 1684p and Lloyds TSB was 5p stronger at 476.25p, although both trailed HBOS whose shares rose 3% or 23.5p to 890.5p to be the session’s highest riser.
Second on the charts was retailer Next as investors took heart from a report by The British Retail Consortium (BRC) that found like-for-like sales were 0.8% higher in November than a year earlier.
Next advanced 2% or 33p to 1488p, but rival clothing retailer Marks & Spencer drifted 0.75p to 458.75p after its recent strong rally.
Outside the top flight, traders speculated that Forth Ports could be the next UK ports operator to be targeted by predators as its shares jumped 7% or 104p to 1630p.
Also in the sector, investors in P&O responded favourably to the news last night that Singapore’s Temasek is keeping its options open about a takeover.
P&O shares increased by 9.5p to 481.5p – well above the level that Dubai-based DP World has agreed to pay.
References: EGi News 06/12/05
