FTSE hits 5,300

The mutual fund company has picked up 9.75p to 422.50p and is reported to be in a takeover bid by US business CI Fund Management, which, according to Sunday papers, has appointed investment banking and legal advisers for the deal.

Shell continues to climb, with its ordinary A shares reaching 30p higher to 1777p, along with its B shares up 28p to 1834p this morning.

Royal & Sun Alliance shed 2.75p to 88p, along with a host of mining firms including Xstrata down 19p to 1,191p, Rio Tinto, down 20p to 1876p and BHP Billiton losing 8p to 798.50p.

Sunday papers reported General Motors as seeking in excess of $1bn in damages in its legal action over asbestos-related claims against Royal & Sun.

In Japan the Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.4% to 11,946.92 at its close early Saturday morning, led by NTT DoCoMo.

The mobile-phone operator advanced 4.6% to 182,000 yen after reporting a 22% increase in first-quarter due to a surge in high-speed service subscribers, lower costs and a gain from selling shares in a UK venture.

KDDI, a smaller DoCoMo rival, climbed 6.3% to 576,000 yen, after a surge in subscribers.

Financial company Orix, picked up 3.3% to 17,160 yen, after reporting a 60% increase in first-quarter net income on Friday.

Taisho Pharmaceutical lost 7%, to 2,050 yen, after a 52% drop in first-quarter profit on the back of increased spending on research and development of new products.

In the US the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 64.64 points to 10640.91 points at its close late Friday evening, led by Exxon Mobile.

The oil exploration firm declined $1.25 to $58.75.

General Motors lost $0.70 to $36.82.

At the other end of the board, fast food chain McDonalds advanced $0.89 to $31.17, along with International Paper adding $0.59 to $31.60.

IFAonline

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