A raft of corporate news helped give a modest boost to the FTSE-100 Index today.
The rise came despite nerves ahead of the release of official inflation data this morning.
Investors will be looking for signals from the figures on whether the Bank of England will repeat its shock move last week by raising interest rates.
But the nerves were not enough to stop the FTSE-100 rising 52.9 points to 6221.9 in the opening minutes.
Shares in shipping giant P&O steamed ahead by 15.5p to £10.10 after it unveiled better-than-expected first half profits. The group also cheered investors by bringing forward by six months its plans to float its Bovis construction group.
Truck rental company Hill Hire roared ahead by 65.5p to 237.5p – a 38% rise – after saying it had received a recommended cash offer of 240p-a-share from the Bank of Scotland. The offer values the group at £74m.
Bank of Scotland shares rose 4p to 720p.
News that Greenalls is to sell its pubs and restaurants division to Scottish & Newcastle for £1.4bn cheered investors in both companies.
Greenalls frothed up 7p to 375p while brewer Scottish & Newcastle put on 22p to 615p.
However, investors in retail giant Kingfisher dismissed its 39% jump in first-half profits and instead worried about its lack of international strategies. Shares fell 6.5p to 733p.
PA News 14/09/99
