In the UK stocks rose, led by Boots Group and Alliance Unichem after the two companies agreed to merge in a stock transaction valued at as much as £3.2bn.
The FTSE 100 Index climbed 23.8 points, or 0.4%, to 5501.5 at its close a short while ago. Boots, owner of the largest UK drugstore chain, jumped 24.5p, or 4%, to 633p. Meanwhile, Alliance Unichem, Europe's second-biggest drug distributor, advanced 8.5p, or 1%, to a record 875p. Shares of companies reliant on US sales, such as Wolseley and GlaxoSmithKline, climbed as the dollar rose to a two-month high against the British pound. Wolseley, the world's biggest distributor of plumbing and heating equipment, gained 3.4% to 1,240p. The company made almost half its sales in the US last y...
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