THE FTSE Mid-250 index raced up to a new all time closing high and the FTSE 100 index made further good progress yesterday as the London market continued to bet on more takeover bids.
Helped by a good showing from gilts, themselves lifted by good gains in international bond markets, share prices shrugged off a minor bout of the jitters early in the session and again in the afternoon when Wall Street looked unsettled, and closed not far short of the day's best levels.
The FTSE 100 ended the session a net 13.5 higher at 3,832.8, while the FTSE Mid-250 continued its record breaking run, hitting another closing peak, up 15.3 at 4,568.6.
Over the week the Footsie index has fallen 24.3, in the wake of the shock news that the Trade Secretary, Mr Ian Lang, had blocked the takeover bids by the two English generators, National Power and PowerGen, for Southern and Midlands Electricity. Shares in all four stocks, predictably, fell sharply, unsettling sentiment in the wider market with them.
The Mid-250, however, although temporarily damaged by the Lang news, which saw all the electricity stocks weakened, posted a 34.1 gain over the five day period. Second liner stocks were in strong demand all week, with dealers and speculators hunting the next takeover story.
