FTSE upbeat as oil prices drop

Sage Group leads the benchmark, up 4p to 204.25p, along with Exel, 16p higher to 879p, after talk of a takeover by Deutsche Post. BHP Billiton meanwhile, has lost 7.50p to 712p. In Japan stocks advanced after a dollar gain against the yen and crude oil prices started to retreat from a record. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 0.9% to 11,774.31, led by Honda Motor adding 2.2% to 5,530 yen. Advantest Corp, a maker of memory-chip testing equipment, picked up 0.6% to 8,320 yen. Crude oil futures for May delivery dropped to $56.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down ...