MARKET REPORT

sion.barry@walesonline.co.uk THE London market started the week on a bum note as it was dragged lower by Smurfit Kappa after the packaging giant rebuffed a sweetened takeover bid from International Paper.

The FTSE 100 Index closed down 33.25 points to 6,888.69, with Smurfit emerging as the biggest faller after knocking back the US suitor for a second time.

The group said a new bid had been tabled on March 22, which comprised €25.25 (£22.04) in cash and 0.3028 of new shares in International Paper.

The fresh approach values each Smurfit Kappa share at €37.54 (£32.77), which up from the previous offer of €36.46 (£31.83) made on March 6.

Shares in Smurfit were down 126p to 2,932p, with chairman Liam O’Mahony saying it was in the best interests of investors for the group to remain an independent company based in Dublin.

Across Europe, Germany’s Dax was 0.8% lower and the Cac 40 in France fell 0.6%.

On the currency markets, the pound surged to a seven-week high against the US dollar as traders continued to bet on the Bank of England hiking interest rates in May.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 Index were Fresnillo up 55p to 1,263p, BP up 7.1p to 469.6p, Royal Bank of Scotland up 3.9p to 258.5p, Evraz up 5.4p to 443.5p.

The biggest fallers were Smurfit Kappa down 126p to 2,932p, Micro Focus International down 31p to 925p, Paddy Power Betfair down 220p to 7,155p, Kingfisher down 8.5p to 288.2p.