The FTSE 100 Index rose 58.50 points, or 1%, to 6,084 points today, led by bid talk in the life insurance sector.
Legal & General gained 2.68% to £1.53 as market watchers talked of a possible bid from Aegon. HSBC rose 0.37% to £9.49 on rumours it is considering a bid for Bradford & Bingley. Sage jumped 7.47% to £2.59 after full year pre-tax profit climbed to £221.2m from £193.6m a year earlier on revenues up 22% to £935.6m. Corus increased 0.4% to £5.00 after third quarter figures showed a 133% rise in underlying earnings to £168m. In the US, the Dow Jones industrial average is up 57.28 points, or 0.47%, at 12,193.73 points after the government raised its estimate of third-quarter economic grow...
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