Takeover bid helps Footsie climb again

Market report Emma Newlands

A takeover swoop for packaging giant Smurfit Kappa sent shares soaring, helping London’s premier index climb for the second straight session.

The FTSE 100 Index closed up 30.77 points to 7,146.75, with Smurfit emerging as the biggest riser on the top tier after it snubbed an “unsolicited and highly opportunistic” offer from the International Paper Company. Shares in Smurfit closed up 19.7 per cent to 3,042p.

The brighter FTSE 100 performance comes after £27 billion was wiped off blue-chip stocks on Friday when US plans to hike tariffs on steel and aluminium prompted fears of a global trade war.

Sterling rose 0.2 per cent versus the US dollar at $1.388, with the greenback suffering from the market’s move towards more riskier assets following the announcement that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would hold a landmark summit with South Korea’s president. Against the euro, the pound was down 0.3 per cent to €1.119.

Shares in takeover target GKN were down 4.8p to 421.1p as pressure mounts on the UK government to kill off the proposed £7.4bn bid by Melrose amid asset-stripping fears.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 Index included Intertek, up 224p to 5,092p, and Anglo American, up 67p to 1,760.2p. The biggest fallers included Ashtead Group, down 111.5p to 1,917.5p, and Easyjet ,down45p to 1,552.5p. News that Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct has tightened its grip on the online value retail and education business boosted its share price. Investors lost appetite for the online takeaway delivery firm after it swung to a loss, with its weakerthan-expected forecast flagged by analysts.