News

Surging oil prices, a strong mining sector and another dose of takeover speculation has sent London through 6,600, with Standard Chartered top of the tree.

Talk is that Bank of China is mulling a bid for the Far East focused bank pitched at around 2,000p per share. Hungry punters chased the shares higher.

Meanwhile, the Resolution bid battle took another step nearer a finale, with Standard Life launching a recommended offer for the insurer worth 517p in cash and 0.715 shares for each Resolution share.

The bid trumped a 691p a share approach from Pearl Assurance and scuppers Friends Provident's planned merger with Resolution.

Oils and miners remain strong, with Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Xstrata, Vedanta and Rio Tinto featuring among the best performers. Metal prices are higher, while oil prices surged through $92 a barrel for a time in Asian trade.

Lonmin bucks the trend among mining stocks, losing ground after Lehman Brothers cut its price target on the stock from 3,600p to 3,400p following yesterday's production update.

Supermarket chain Sainsbury's is lower after it said Delta Two is seeking to increase funding of around £500m of additional equity for its 600p per share offer. The Takeover Panel also announced a deadline of 8 November for Delta Two to announce a bid.

Northern Rock is up in a mixed banking sector. Private equity group JC Flowers confirmed it is continuing talks with Northern about a possible offer and announced a heavyweight bid team.

The management team, which it intends to appoint in the event of a successful offer, includes former chairman of Marks & Spencer Paul Myners, who would take the same role at Northern.

Life insurer Legal & General today reported an 8% drop in sales for the first nine months of the year following a slowdown at the protection business, although the numbers matched forecasts.

Capita Group benefits from a spot of bargain hunting after the stock was battered yesterday following the news that the group has lost the contract for London's congestion charge.

Housebuilders and property stocks are friendless, with Taylor Wimpey and Hammerson the worst affected.

Electronic equipment maker Feedback is another on the recovery trail, rising sharply today after it shed more than a third of its value yesterday following the collapse of bid talks.

Advertising group WPP announced that its BatesAsia unit has agreed to buy a majority stake in Chinese marketing service agency MeThinks.

Gas explorer Cairn Energy said it is selling some of its Bangaldeshi interests to an Australian oil and gas exploration company for $50m in cash.

Oil explorer Premier Oil said it has plugged and abandoned the Masimpur-3 well as it did not flow commercial gas or oil volumes during testing.

Gene therapy firm Oxford BioMedica is firmer after it received an order confirming the strength and validity of its intellectual property over a patent dispute with Open Biosystems.

Shares in Elephant Loans have slumped after the sales channel for lenders said it believes profit for the year will be below market expectations.

Speciality metal and metal-based chemicals outfit Metal-Tech said its Uzbekistan joint venture has been declared bankrupt.

Football club Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed that manager Martin Jol and first team coach Chris Hughton have left the club.

Spin-out specialist Imperial Innovations has announced details of a share placing at 370p to raise £30m, which it said will help speed up the process of commercial exploitation.