Hopes of consolidation in the telecoms sector helped the market move higher today, despite disappointing US manufacturing figures casting a slight shadow during the afternoon.
Cable & Wireless climbed 4.1p to 170.7p while BT was 6.25p better at 310p. Even Vodafone - which was hit hard on Friday after a disappointing trading update - rose 1.1p to 136.6p, although dealers reported some switching from the mobile company to BT.
The catalyst for the all the excitement was news that Pirelli was in talks with AT&T and America Movil of Mexico about selling two-thirds of its controlling stake in Telecom Italia. Analysts said the news focused investors' minds on the value to be had in the sector.
Catering group Compass also attracted buyers in the wake of last week's upbeat trading statement, up 8.25p to 348.25p, while ITV was wanted after a positive note from Goldman Sachs. The broadcaster added 1p to 110p as Goldman repeated its buy recommendation and 130p target, saying the company's success in winning the rights to broadcast FA Cup and England football matches was good news.
Goldman said the matches were "some of the most bankable ratings events" - although viewers of the two recent England performances may beg to differ - and could make ITV more attractive to Virgin Media, said to be working on a new bid for the broadcaster if BSkyB is forced by regulatory authorities to dispose of its 17.8% stake.
So despite the US economic news and a fall in mining shares after a dip in the oil price, the FTSE 100 managed to hold onto a 7.5 point rise to 6315.5.
Figures showing a slowdown in UK manufacturing in March had little effect, with dealers keeping some of their powder dry ahead of this week's interest rate setting meeting at the Bank of England.
But the equivalent American report was a different matter. The Institute for Supply Management said US factory activity slipped back in March compared with February more sharply than analysts had expected. The news sent Wall Street lower initially, but the fall was soon reversed on the back of takeover news, notably a $26bn agreed bid from private equity firm KKR for credit checking agency First Data Group.
Experian, a UK rival to First Data, benefited from the bid news and topped the list of FTSE 100 risers. It added 19p to 604.5p, boosted by the valuation put on First Data and hopes that Experian itself could be taken over.
Royal rat catcher Rentokil Initial was also higher on suggestions of a possible management buyout, up 4.75p to 167.75p.
Meanwhile Alliance Boots edged up 2.5p to £10.29p. Reports over the weekend said German group Celesio, which owns Lloyds Chemists in the UK, may step in and try to scupper the bid for Boots from KKR and the UK chemist's deputy chairman Stefano Pessina.
Banking group Barclays put on 2p to 723p awaiting further developments in its attempts to buy Dutch rival ABN Amro. An outperform recommendation from Cazenove helped.
A positive note from HSBC helped lift British Land by 30p to £15.58p and Land Securities 34p to £21.74. HSBC said British Land had the largest discount to net asset value in the sector, while it upgraded Land Securities from underweight to neutral after a 10% fall in its share price this year.
On the trading front, care homes firm Southern Cross said it was performing ahead of expectations and saw its shares climb 31p to 466.75p.
But Carphone Warehouse slipped 2.5p to 274.25p after it warned the costs of improving its broadband service and setting up a French joint venture with Virgin Mobile would knock £20m-£30m off next year's profits.
Among the miners, Kazakhmys lost 16p to £11.55 and Antofagasta fell 8.75p to 509p.
Scottish & Newcastle slipped 12p to 589.5p on profit taking after last week's takeover-fuelled run. SABMiller was mentioned at the end of the week as a possible predator, along with Heineken or Carlsberg. Dealers reported rumours that SAB had ruled itself out of any bid.
Meanwhile JP Morgan upped its rating on S&N from underweight to neutral, despite pouring cold water on the idea of a bid from another brewer, although it did say a private equity takeover was a more likely option, with a potential predator able to pay up to 700p a share.
Pubs group Enterprise Inns was also lower, down 12.5p to 656p after Credit Suisse began coverage with an underperform rating and a 610p target, saying the company's valuation now looked demanding.
Lower down the market retailing group Game added 10p to 150.5p after Goldman Sachs raised its target from 149p to 183p, saying the market was still underestimating the impact on the company's business of new video consoles such as the Sony PlayStation 3.
Ten Alps, Bob Geldof's TV production company, rose 0.25p to 56.5p. The company is paying up to £2.5m for Atalink, a media and advertising sales company which produces Woman's World magazine and books for shows such as the Ideal Home Show and Gardeners' World Live.
But telecoms minnow Pipex fell 1.75p to 14.75p awaiting bid news. Dealers said Virgin Media and BSkyB were said to have pulled out, leaving Carphone Warehouse and BT left in the running.
Equator Exploration lost 8p to 28p as it confirmed reports that a crew member from a rig it had contracted off the coast of Nigeria had been abducted by gunmen in speedboats on Saturday.
But Antrim Energy jumped 20.5p to 224p after the oil and gas company reported record results and said its proved and probable reserves increased by 435% over 2005.
Finally executive search group Hexagon Human Capital, which floated at 165p in February, added 5.5p to 176p. The company said results for the year to the end of March would be above market expectations, and it was confident about prospects for the next 12 months.