FTSE latest: Pru, Aviva, IMI up
Strong oil and mining stocks underpinned a strong showing for the Footsie today.
The weak US dollar propelled the price of gold to a fresh high above $1,100 an ounce, while oil prices were also stronger at more than $78 a barrel.
The FTSE 100 index was 90 points up at 5,232.7.
'The corporate story will unfold as the week goes on with investors following good figures from the US last week and the expectation of better performances from Barclays and HSBC on Tuesday,' said Richard Hunter, Head of UK equities at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Miners were major risers on the back of the gold price. Beneficiaries included Kazakhmys after a gain of 67p to 1280p, while Rio Tinto added 125p to 3042p and Xstrata gained 48.5p to 1011p.
Royal Bank of Scotland extended Friday gains, which followed its third-quarter results, rising 2.34p to 39.4p. Barclays was up 6.35p to 342.85p ahead of its numbers due tomorrow, as investors look for another bumper performance from its investment banking operations.
Life insurers were in demand as takeover speculation swept through the sector after Europe's second-largest insurer AXA unveiled a planned $7bn buy-out of its Asian assets and sale of its Australian assets to local rival AMP.
The sector was helped by ING which raised its price targets on European insurers.
Aviva - which ING rates as 'buy' and raised its target price to 523p from 434p - topped the gainers up 11.6p to 404.7p.
Prudential was the strongest insurer, up 30p to 608p with traders saying French peer AXA's decision to buy out its Asian shares highlights the value of Prudential's own Asian businesses.
Investors are eagerly awaiting news from Kraft which has until 1700 GMT to make its formal takeover bid for Cadbury, or walk away for six months. Cadbury shares added 3p to 761p.
Reports said Kraft will go hostile and take an offer straight to shareholders following the rejection of its earlier £10.2bn takeover effort.
Shares in Inmarsat jumped 26.5p to 621p after surging data revenues helped the satellite operator to lift profits by nearly a third over the past three months.
But blue chip security group G4S eased by 2.9p to 249.9p as results showed a 12% lift in operating profits in the first nine months of 2009, but weaker revenue growth.
IMI shares jump 15.16% to a 14-month high of 529.5p after the British manufacturer said it will beat 2009 earnings expectations, boosting by switching more production to cheaper economies and lower metal prices.
Citi analysts raised their 2009 earnings per share forecast by 10% to 41.6p, not including a one-off pension gain of 2p.
IN THE CITY TOMORROW
• Barclays, which will update the market on its third-quarter trading, is tipped to be one of the UK banking sector's successes in the past quarter, fuelled by big numbers from its Barclays Capital arm, according to analysts at Morgan Stanley.
• Vodafone posts first-half results.
• Imperial Tobacco, the world's fourth-largest cigarette maker is expected to deliver full-year results revealing a sales drop of 2% to 3% after admitting at an interim update that the recession was hitting its business.
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