London midday: Stocks stay up as deal news lifts mood

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still in the black by midday on Monday, with sentiment boosted by a flurry of deal news. The FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 7,903.72.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "The FTSE 100 made brisk progress on Monday as a solid start to the US reporting season and a sprinkling of M&A activity helped buoy sentiment.

"Given all the drama around the sector in recent weeks it felt important that the big American banks which reported last Friday beat market expectations.

"While corporate announcements from the US are likely to continue to grab the headlines, a lot of the spotlight in macroeconomic terms is likely to be drawn by China with a raft of data set to be published imminently. For a FTSE 100 index teeming with resources stocks, this could have a big bearing given China is such a rapacious consumer of commodities."

In equity markets, Network International rocketed after the payments firm said it has received a non-binding proposal from a consortium of CVC and Francisco Partners about a cash offer of 387p a share. Network said that having "carefully evaluated" the proposal with its financial advisers, it was minded to recommend it should a firm intention to make an offer be announced.

Wood Group also surged as the oil and gas engineering firm said it had decided to engage with US private equity group Apollo to see if a firm offer can be made on a potential £1.66bn takeover. Wood has rejected four proposals from Apollo but has now decided to grant access to documents for due diligence after a fifth approach at 240p a share.

International Distribution Services rose after it emerged over the weekend that Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union had reached an agreement on pay and employment terms.

Qinetiq rallied as it lifted its full-year guidance following an "impressive" fourth-quarter performance.

RS Group was lifted by an upgrade to 'outperform' from 'sector perform' at RBC Capital Markets, which said the risk/reward was now more favourable.

Barclays fell following reports the bank is planning to cut about 100 roles in its investment banking group.

Outsourcer Capital slid following a report that a recent attack on the company by Russian cybercriminals was "far more serious" than it has admitted. According to Sunday Times, personal bank account details, addresses, and passport photos have now been leaked on the internet after allegedly being stolen by hackers Black Basta.

Outside the FTSE 350, Quiz shares tumbled after the fashion retailer struck a cautious note on the outlook, warning that inflationary pressures were denting consumer demand.

THG surged, however, after the e-commerce company confirmed it had received a highly preliminary and non-binding indicative takeover proposal from PE firm Apollo.