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London’s top financial index inched higher to continue its recent winning streak despite wavering during the trading session amid further concerns over US tariffs.
The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) and FTSE 250 (^FTMC) were both higher at the close of play after they were boosted by takeover announcements and speculation.
The FTSE 100 finished up by 0.01%, or 1.07 points, to close at 8,597.42, after it was particularly buoyed by reports that oil giant BP (BP.L) could be a takeover target.
London stocks benefited from confirmation of a UK-India trade deal, as other major European markets were under pressure due to concerns that President Trump will announce more tariffs.
The Cac 40 (^FCHI) ended 0.4% lower for the day and the Dax (^GDAXI) index was down 0.46%.
Axel Rudolph, senior technical analyst at IG, said: “Whereas most Asian stock indices, including China’s, rose on Tuesday despite the country’s services growth slowing to a seven-month low, US markets remained on track for their second straight day of falling share prices.
“The lingering threat of new tariffs being imposed by President Trump led to a rise in the gold price on safe haven flows and an outflow of US stocks into Asian and European indices.”
In currency, the pound was 0.54% higher at 1.336 US dollars and was up 0.34% at 1.178 euro when London’s markets closed.
In company news, BP was in the green following reports that its rival, Shell, is exploring a possible acquisition of the oil and gas giant.
The rise, which came after a recent slump in the stock’s value, was driven by weekend reports that Shell has been weighing the merits of a takeover with advisers in recent weeks.
BP shares finished up 1.4% at 355.15p on Tuesday as a result.
Deliveroo (ROO.L) made gains after the takeaway delivery group agreed to a takeover by its US rival DoorDash (DASH) in a deal worth around £2.9 billion.
San Francisco-based DoorDash will pay 180p a share in cash for London-listed Deliveroo in a move set to create a combined firm with a presence across 40 countries and handling about 90 billion US dollars (£67.7 billion) of orders each year.
Shares in London-listed Deliveroo rose by 1.9% to 175.4p.
Alpha Group (ALPH.L) also lifted in value after the financial services firm rebuffed a takeover proposal from US-based Corpay. The London firm closed up 8.5% at 3,050p.
Marks & Spencer mks (MKS.L) shares slipped further to drop to their lowest level for almost a month due to the continued fallout from its cyber attack, which caused the retailer to pause all online orders. Shares fell 4.7% to 360.2p.