The London stock market, trading close to a six-year peak, will seek to extend gains next week amid an interest rate decision and a fresh batch of company earnings.
Investors will also monitor the latest take-over news, with the future of supermarket chain J Sainsbury high on the agenda. On Friday, London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares ended at 6,310.90 points, up 82.9 points or 1.33 percent from a week earlier.
The index is currently trading close to a six-year pinnacle owing partly to healthy company earnings and take-over talk. Next week's central focus will be on the Bank of England (BoE) on Thursday.
The central bank sprang a shock quarter-point interest rate hike last month to 5.25 percent. However, market expectations are for no change next week.
On the corporate radar, oil titan BP weighs in with its annual results on Tuesday.
Earlier this week, Anglo-Dutch peer Royal Dutch Shell had booked record annual net profit of 25.44 billion dollars (19.54 billion euros) but saw output falter due partly to production problems in Nigeria.
Other companies publishing their latest earnings reports next week include energy firm BG Group, drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline, Miner BHP Billiton Amd chemicals giant ICI.
Investors will meanwhile pay close attention to developments concerning J Sainsbury, the third-biggest biggest supermarket chain in Britain.
Private equity groups CVC Capital Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Blackstone said on Friday they were mulling a take-over of Sainsbury.
A spokesman declined to comment but the news sent Sainsbury's share price into orbit, giving the group stock market capitalisation stands at about 9.0 billion pounds (13.6 billion euros, 17.7 billion dollars).
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