UK stocks ended higher on Friday as lofty crude oil prices pumped up the oil sector, while bank Lloyds TSB and logistics group Exel rose after reporting forecast-beating profits. Drug-maker GlaxoSmithKline took away some of the shine, however, after two batches of its drugs were seized by US officials due to concerns about manufacturing quality. Shares in the company finished down 2.2 percent, pulling back from a 15-month high earlier in the session, after the US Food and Drug Administration said it had confiscated quantities of GSK's antidepressant Paxil and diabetes drug Avandamet.
Mid-cap listed Skyepharma, which is GSK's partner for the controlled release pill Paxil, sunk nearly 14 percent on the news.
The FTSE 100 benchmark index finished up 21.5 points at 5,036.3, leaving it with a slight gain for the week. Oils formed the best performing sector, with BP and Shell both up more than 1 percent, reacting to lofty crude prices. But dealers saw little to drive the market higher in the short term.
"We're back above 5,000 which is jolly nice but unless we get any big corporate activity I don't think we're going to race away," one trader said. Several blue chip stocks have been mentioned as possible bid targets but most of the actual offers have been for medium-sized and smaller companies.
Analysts maintained, however, that it was still possible to find attractively valued stocks, despite a near 5 percent gain in the FTSE 100 since the start of the year.
"If you're in the camp that we are going to move into an expansionary phase and you believe the outlook statements and you believe the earnings growth statements, then there is value to be found in the market at these levels," said Stephen Ford, investment manager at private client stockbroker Brewin Dolphin.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was also heading for a positive finish, up about 80 points by the time London closed. The mood there was helped by government data showing better-than-expected jobs growth.
Logistics group Exel topped the FTSE leaderboard with a 3.6 percent increase after it beat forecasts with a 15 percent jump in annual profits. But Exel refused to comment on persistent talk that it might be on the receiving end of a take-over bid from rivals such as Deutsche Post or UPS.
Results from Lloyds TSB, Britain's fifth-biggest bank, were also well received. Lloyds topped 2004 profit forecasts and said it expected further growth in 2005, driving the shares up 2 percent by the close.
Utility Severn Trent put in a bullish performance, up 2 percent after analysts at Dresdner upgraded it to "hold", saying the stock looked undervalued. But the investment bank had negative comments on Rentokil, telling investors to sell shares in the firm, whose businesses range from rat-catching to hygiene and security services.
Dresdner said catering group Compass offered much better value. Rentokil shares fell 3.4 percent, while Compass rose slightly.
In the mid-cap arena, engineer Cookson finished up 3.5 percent after an upgrade to "outperform" by investment bank CSFB. But pub chain JD Wetherspoon lost nearly 3 percent after it said an alcohol price war and a surge in utility costs had hit its profits.
Comments
Comments are closed.