Footsie flat despite jump in Sky shares

Market report Scott Reid

Shares in Sky rocketed after US media behemoth Comcast lined up a showdown with Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox by mounting a £22.1 billion takeover approach for the UK broadcaster.

Sky leapt 20.5 per cent to close at 1,331.5p following the news that Comcast had muscled in on the media mogul’s bid with a 16 per cent higher offer of £12.50 per share.

The owner of NBC and Universal Pictures is attempting to seize more than 50 per cent of Sky in a move that could disrupt Walt Disney’s $66bn (£47bn) attempt to buy Fox’s entertainment assets, which include a stake in the satellite broadcaster.

Shares in housebuilding giant Persimmon jumped 4.7 per cent to 2,604p as it revealed that annual profits rose by a quarter and said it was “encouraged” by the start to 2018 despite Brexit uncertainties.

The group, which also owns the Charles Church and Westbury Partnerships brands, revealed a bumper £966.1 million bottom-line profits haul for last year, boosted by booming demand for new builds. Henry Croft at Accendo Markets said: “With pre-tax profit improving by a quarter, helped by an impressive operating margin and £2.03bn in forwards sales, management has committed to a capital returns plan.”

The FTSE 100 index dipped 7.13 points to close at 7,282.45. The subprime lender announced a £331 million investor cash call after being ordered to pay almost £171m in fines and compensation. Shares in the international engineering firm fell back despite news of a rise in full-year profits as the result came in shy of City forecasts.