By Michael Taylor
LONDON, April 4 (Reuters) - Britain's blue-chip index clung
onto earlier gains on Friday as British Energy <BGY.L> supported
the market on bid speculation, while banks headed south.
At 1036 GMT the FTSE 100 <> edged up 25.5 points or 0.4
percent, at 5,916.8, while investors eagerly awaited U.S.
non-farm payrolls numbers for March.
Due at 1230 GMT, economists in a Reuters survey forecast a
loss of 60,000 jobs, compared with a loss of 63,000 in February.
[]
Among leading UK stocks, British Energy was the standout
gainer, rising 6 percent after French business daily La Tribune
reported on its Web site that EDF's <EDF.PA> board had given the
go-ahead for a takeover bid for the UK firm.
The paper said the French electricity group was only one of
more than 10 potential suitors that would include Germany's E.ON
<EONG.DE> and RWE <RWEG.DE> and British rivals Centrica <CNA.L>
and Scottish and Southern Energy <SSE.L>.
British Energy declined to comment, while EDF was not
immediately available for comment.
"Not the most riveting of days, mainly because we are
waiting for (the U.S. jobs data)," said Justin Urquhart Stewart,
a director at 7 Investment Management. "I'm expecting a small
rise and if it's worse than that, the market won't take kindly
to it."
"People are trying to persuade the market that we've had all
the bad news and things are getting better now. There is going
to be more bad news."
Next week's Bank of England interest rate decision will be
keenly watched, with pressure mounting for a cut, Stewart said,
adding that a cut the month after is most likely.
A Reuters poll on Thursday however, showed that 48 of 63
economists predicted the Monetary Policy Committee would lower
rates by 25 basis points to 5.0 percent and the rest said it
would do so in May. []
Pharmaceuticals also buoyed the index, with GlaxoSmithKline
<GSK.L> up 1.5 percent after the company said it had won U.S.
approval to sell an oral vaccine to prevent a leading cause of
severe diarrhoea in infants.
Rival Astrazeneca <AZN.L> gained 3.1 percent after Morgan
Stanley raised its price target on the drugmaker to 2,200 pence
from 2,150 pence and kept its "equal-weight" rating.
Astra shares have advanced nearly 15 percent this week,
boosted by an upbeat study on its Crestor drug which prompted
upgrades from both Citi and JPMorgan.
Shire <SHP.L> added 3.1 percent.
STRONG MINERS, VOLATILE BANKS
In commodities, miners gained ground with metal prices firm.
Antofagasta <ANTO.L> was 3.1 percent higher, while Xstrata
<XTA.L> tacked on 1.8 percent. A sector upgrade from Sanford C.
Bernstein also aided mining stocks.
On the downside, Marks & Spencer <MKS.L> dipped 1.4 percent
after the Daily Mail said the retailer had written to all of its
shareholders in an attempt to quell the storm over the
appointment of Stuart Rose as executive chairman.
Beaten down banks were volatile, with traders pointing to
persistent credit worries and profit-taking.
HBOS <HBOS.L> fell 1 percent, Lloyds TSB <LLOY.L> shed 2.3
percent and HSBC <HSBA.L> lost 0.6 percent.
Persimmon <PSN.L> fell for the third session, down 3.2
percent as concern about the health of the UK housing market
weighed.
"General worries on house price concerns following HBOS's
comments (on Wednesday) that prices could fall by 30 percent and
banks cutting back on new mortgage applications also weigh,"
said one London trader.
(Additional reporting by Dominic Lau and Rebekah Curtis;
Editing by Paul Bolding)
