A decent start on Wall Street following a better than expected read on consumer confidence helped London break out of a tight range mid afternoon to trade near its highs by the close with the FTSE closing up 1.3% to 5873.6.
Building materials group Hanson led the blue chips once again rising 6.18% to 730p as bid talk refused to die down, with a Dubai-based consortium said to be weighing up a bid. The news follows recent speculation that Mexican cement firm Cemex is also lining up an offer. Also aiding sentiment was the better than expected US housing data yesterday, which lifted the likes of plumbing supplies giant Wolseley, which added 4.11% to close at 1,139p. The miners recovered strongly, helping to support broader gains after a positive note from Swiss broker UBS and a rise in metal prices overnight....
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