FTSE surges on takeover and sales news

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UK shares enjoyed a major boost by the close of business on Tuesday and the benchmark index gained over 1%, as there was good news for Friends Provident, Glaxo and Kingfisher.

The FTSE 100 index closed up 59.5 points or 1.24% to 4,861.2 as only 14 companies saw their share prices fall, and many of the larger companies made serious gains. Kingfisher saw one of the best gains of the day, earning 8.25p or 3.36% to 253.75p, after it was suggested the high street retailer could be a takeover target. GlaxoSmithKline also gained 28p or 2.13% to £13.40 after it agreed to purchase US partner Corixa Corp for around $300m, so the firm could get its hands on experimental vaccines. AstraZeneca also gained 64p or 2.81% to £23.45 on the back of the GSK surge. Friend...

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