UK’s FTSE 100 hits record highs on Anglo-American boost

UK’s FTSE 100 hits record highs on Anglo-American boost

By Pranav Kashyap and Shubham Batra

(Reuters) -Britain’s FTSE 100 hit a record high on Friday, boosted by Anglo-American after Reuters reported Glencore is exploring an approach for the miner, while Diageo advanced after naming a new chief financial officer.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 8,203.83 points, hitting its record intraday high and is set for a second straight week of gains.

Hopes of early interest rate cuts by the Bank of England and easing geopolitical tensions have led to UK equities hitting seven record highs so far this year.

Anglo American jumped 3.2% to the top of the FTSE 100 after Reuters reported that Glencore was mulling to make an offer to the 107-year-old miner, a move that could spark a bidding war.

“Investors are salivating at the possibility that there will be this massive bidding war for Anglo American. All miners now are looking at copper, thinking about how much demand has surged, and they’re looking to have the lion’s share of the market,” said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.

Glencore, on the other hand, was the top loser on the benchmark index, down 1.3%.

Diageo rose 1.4% and boosted the beverages sector by 1.3% after the global drinks group named Nik Jhangiani as its chief financial officer. Technology giant Apple added to the upbeat mood seen in Asian stocks after the iPhone maker announced a $110 billion share buyback programme. The stock was up nearly 6% in U.S. premarket trading.

The mid-cap FTSE 250 edged up 0.1%, lifted by a 9% gain in Trainline as the rail ticketing company said it sees strong net ticket sales growth.

Domestic manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data for April, Euro zone’s unemployment rate for March and U.S. non-farm payrolls data for April will be on investors’ radar later in the day.

(Reporting by Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Sohini Goswami)