FTSE flat as Wall Street caps gains

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The FTSE 100 has ended the day practically unchanged with a small fall of 0.3 points to 6,149.3, as weak readings on the US economy limited a late rally.

Smith & Nephew was the biggest drag on the index with a fall of 4.22% to 487.75p, following its third quarter figures and confirmation it is in early stage merger talks with US firm Biomet. Amvescap also struggled, ending the day with a drop of 2.58% to 596p, closely followed by Sage Group which slipped 2.52% to 232.5p, while BAE Systems ended the day down 2.4% to 406p, while Carnival dropped 1.77% to £24.98. Unilever posted the biggest gains with a rise of 4.64% to £13.54, closely followed by British Energy Group which gained 4.39% to 452p, while GlaxoSmithKline climbed 1.58% to £14....

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