Bid talk powers SSE to top of the Footsie

SSE powered its way to the top of the FTSE 100 following reports that activist investor Elliott Management has amassed a stake in the firm.

Rumours have been circulating for several days before gaining steam at the weekend, with speculation now mounting that Elliott could launch a campaign to force an overhaul if it finds it hard to engage with bosses.

This has been the New York hedge fund’s modus operandi for years – famously urging Whitbread (down 0.2pc, or 5p, to 3193p) to spin off Costa Coffee.

The reports have all said it is not clear how big Elliott’s stake is or what it is intending to do.

But it has also fuelled more chatter over whether SSE, which runs gas power plants, wind farms and electricity networks, could also be a takeover target.

SSE wants to become a leader in renewable power, and sold its household energy arm SSE Energy Services to challenger group Ovo Energy in 2020 for £500m.

SSE shares soared 5pc, or 77.5p, to 1623.5p. Elsewhere, water groups Severn Trent and United Utilities gained after Australia’s Macquarie bought a £1bn majority stake in Southern Water, which received a record fine for sewage pollution a few weeks ago.

The deal has fuelled talk that overseas investors could have other water firms in their sights.

Severn Trent rose 0.9pc, or 24p, to 2794p and United Utilities by 0.7pc, or 7.5p, to 1063p.

A bumper day for the FTSE 100’s utilities groups did eventaully boost the wider index after a slow start to the day. The Footsie closed up 0.1pc, or 9.35 points, to 7132.3, while the FTSE 250 went the other way, falling 0.01pc, or 2.72 points, to 23453.44.

Trading was partly muted after disappointing data from China, which added to concerns that the spread of the Delta variant could be weighing on Asian economies.

China’s July trade numbers showed exports grew by 19.3pc – a high-sounding number that was actually the lowest this year and below expectations.

Imports also sagged, rising 28.1pc, down from 36.7pc in June.

The Delta outbreaks also hit the oil price.

Brent crude dropped 3pc to $68.70 a barrel, as any potential lockdowns in China could severely hamper overall demand as it is the world’s biggest consumer.

Craig Erlam of trading platform Oanda said: ‘The fact that China is already importing lower numbers of crude, as well as other commodities like iron ore and copper, doesn’t help the outlook or prices.’

The Footsie’s oil majors mostly shrugged the price drop off, however, with BP falling 0.7pc, or 2p, to 305.45p and Shell by 0.8pc, or 11p, to 1456p.

Bitcoin hit a three-month high, rising 3pc to climb above $46,000.

It is the first time it has crossed the $45,000 mark since mid-May.

London-listed bitcoin ‘miner’ Argo Blockchain yesterday reported that first-half revenues had surged by 180pc to £31m, as the company benefited from an astonishing rally that later fizzled out in May. Profits ballooned from £500,000 to £10.7m.

But it appeared that much of this had already been priced in, as Argo’s shares fell 0.8pc, or 1p, to 130p by the close.

Page Group’s stock also suffered, tumbling 3.2pc, or 20p, to 603p, on the back of results.

The FTSE 250-listed recruiter said turnover had risen to £766m, up from £655m from the same period of last year, and it would pay out a 4.7p dividend.

But boss Steve Ingham warned there was still a ‘high degree of global macro-economic uncertainty’ and that there were still Covid restrictions in ‘a number of the group’s market’.

The chief executive said this made it hard to tell if improvements were the result of pent-up demand or a sustainable trend.