FTSE 100 movers: Supermarkets rally on Morrisons news; Informa in the red
London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.6% at 7,162.75 in afternoon trade on Monday.
British Airways and Iberia parent IAG was the standout gainer on the index.
Ladbrokes owner Entain was also a high riser after Deutsche Bank upped its price target on the buy-rated stock to 2,108p from 2,090p
Tesco and Sainsburys rallied after US buyout firm Apollo Global Management said it was considering entering the race for rival Morrisons after Fortress tabled a £6.3bn recommended bid on the weekend.
Apollo confirmed weekend reports that it was "in the preliminary stages of evaluating a possible offer for Morrisons".
"No approach has been made to the board of Morrisons," Apollo said. "There can be no certainty that any offer will be made, nor as to the terms on which any such offer might be made," it added.
Morrisons confirmed on Monday that it had recommended the offer from US investment fund Fortress, the owner of Majestic Wine. It has already rejected a bid from yet another US buyout firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice.
Informa was under the cosh after Credit Suisse cut its price target on the stock to 640p from 670p.
FTSE 100 - Risers
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 189.98p 5.47%
Barclays (BARC) 177.70p 3.10%
Entain (ENT) 1,848.00p 2.81%
Tesco (TSCO) 230.10p 2.45%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 278.30p 2.32%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 104.84p 2.20%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 47.78p 2.04%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,474.50p 1.94%
Glencore (GLEN) 321.25p 1.94%
St James's Place (STJ) 1,537.50p 1.92%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Informa (INF) 518.40p -2.00%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,575.00p -1.53%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 6,608.00p -1.45%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 8,674.00p -1.20%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 973.80p -1.14%
WPP (WPP) 991.20p -1.03%
Aveva Group (AVV) 3,856.00p -0.98%
ITV (ITV) 129.00p -0.69%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,527.00p -0.63%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,581.50p -0.63%