Bid speculation pushes FTSE higher

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The FTSE 100 has ended the session up 17.5 points, or 0.28%, to 2, following reports of a bid approach for chemist Alliance Boots.

The company posted the biggest gains with a rise of 14.11% to 930p, after it announced the bid was preliminary and highly conditional, meanwhile Morrison supermarket climbed 4.23% to 320.5p, while DSG International added 3.69% to 175.5p. Retailer Next also performed well with a rise of 3.65% to £20.73, while Kingfisher gained 3.11% to 257.25p, although gains were limited by GlaxoSmithKline which slipped 0.97% to £14.35. However miners were the biggest drag on the index with Xstrata down 2.59% to £24.05, Lonmin dropped 1.49% to £30.42, closely followed by Antofagasta which 1.05% to 471p,...

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