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(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 inched higher on Friday after hitting a two-week low the previous session, with M&A activity involving household names Vodafone and easyJet lifting the mood despite ongoing uncertainty in the Middle East.
The FTSE 100 finished 0.24% higher at 10,497.29 after two days of losses pushed it down to 10,472.45 on Thursday, its lowest since 24 June.
"Overall, sentiment remained fragile as the US and Iran resumed hostilities, hitting each other's military targets around the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz," said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation.
"Despite a spike in crude oil prices over the past week, it does appear that investors are taking this latest breakdown between the US and Iran in their stride. Oil prices pulled back a touch yesterday and were a tad lower again."
Brent was down 0.9% at $75.60 a barrel by the close of play, having briefly topped the $80 mark on Wednesday after the US-Iran ceasefire was officially declared over.
Vodafone was the standout riser among blue chips on news that Emirates Telecommunications Group will sell its entire stake in the company to French billionaire Xavier Niel for £4.4bn. Under the terms of the deal, the 16.21% stake has been priced at 112.5p per share, a premium to Thursday's closing price of 97.76p.
Entain and Flutter were posting solid gains as the gambling peers rebounded after recent losses amid concerns about new financial risk checks for high-spenders. The Gambling Commission said earlier this week that people who spend more than £1,000 within 24 hours or £3,000 in a rolling 90-day period have to undergo a financial risk assessment.
Shares in St James's Place tumbled following a report that one of its largest partner firms, Sovereign Wealth, is the latest set to leave as the wealth manager faces retention challenges.
On the FTSE 250, easyJet shares surged after a bidding war emerged for the low-cost carrier when it accepted a £5.7bn deal from private equity firm Apollo, trumping an earlier proposal by Castlelake.
The company announced on Monday that it was ready to accept a sweetened £5.5bn takeover offer from Castlelake after the private equity group tabled a fifth offer at 690p a share. However, it has now agreed in principle on the terms of a possible cash offer by Apollo at 715p per share.
Recruiter Hays said it expected full-year earnings to be at the top end of consensus as the pace of decline in fee income slowed in the fourth quarter, sending shares in the company skywards.
Textile services provider Johnson Service Group dropped after saying that it still expects to deliver "another year of progress" in FY26, despite a drop in first‑half hotel, restaurant and catering revenues, as margin improvement and cost discipline continue to support performance.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,497.29 0.24%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,371.41 0.56%
techMARK (TASX) 5,902.02 0.52%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Vodafone Group (VOD) 110.10p 12.62%
Entain (ENT) 550.80p 4.44%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 8,420.00p 3.19%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 83.82p 2.92%
Spirax Group (SPX) 6,555.00p 2.66%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,890.00p 1.94%
Relx plc (REL) 2,417.00p 1.77%
3i Group (III) 2,704.00p 1.73%
BT Group (BT.A) 190.05p 1.69%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,778.00p 1.67%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
St James's Place (STJ) 1,155.50p -8.55%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 12,834.00p -3.89%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,856.00p -2.26%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,009.50p -1.61%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 440.00p -1.35%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,713.00p -1.09%
Admiral Group (ADM) 3,634.00p -1.09%
SEGRO (SGRO) 861.40p -0.85%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,462.00p -0.78%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,069.50p -0.56%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Hays (HAS) 42.90p 20.17%
easyJet (EZJ) 672.20p 14.28%
WPP (WPP) 274.60p 6.23%
Playtech (PTEC) 385.60p 4.44%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 128.50p 4.39%
THG (THG) 31.06p 3.88%
AEP Plantations (AEP) 168.00p 3.70%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 861.00p 3.36%
HGCapital Trust (HGT) 374.50p 3.17%
Workspace Group (WKP) 342.00p 3.14%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Johnson Service Group (JSG) 142.70p -14.14%
Avon Technologies (AVON) 1,654.00p -3.50%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 451.20p -3.09%
Genus (GNS) 2,020.00p -2.51%
Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 4,788.00p -2.41%
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 460.80p -2.29%
Zigup (ZIG) 453.50p -2.26%
Diversified Energy Company (DI) (DEC) 988.00p -1.98%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,584.00p -1.92%
GCP Infrastructure Investments Ltd (GCP) 82.20p -1.91%
