FTSE 100 movers: Diageo surges on bid speculation, miners lower

UK stocks were trading slightly higher on Monday, led by strength in the telecommunications, construction and transport sectors.

As of 15:15 BST, the FTSE 100 was trading 0.17% higher at 8,816.

Diageo led the risers following media reports of bid interest over the weekend. 3G Capital, which is owned by Brazilian billionaire Jorge Paulo Lemann, is reportedly considering a takeover for the company.

"At the very least, we believe this will increase pressure on Diageo management to consider actions that would restore confidence/unlock value and underpin the valuation,” said analysts at Citigroup.

BT Group surged on speculation that it is set to become a takeover target for Deutsche Telekom. This comes as the German giant is reportedly in advanced talks to merge its American arm, T-Mobile US, with the satellite pay-TV operator Dish Networks. If a deal is struck, industry sources claim, the likelihood of a Teutonic takeover of BT will increase.

Pearson was lifted as French broker Naxis raised its price target from 1,500p to 1,550p and reiterated its 'buy' rating.

Vodafone was also buoyed by positive broker sentiment, as analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded their rating to 'neutral' from 'underweight'.

Supermarket chain Morrison dipped as it unveiled plans to cut prices of 200 “everyday items”, including bread and milk, by up to a third. The group, UK’s fourth largest supermarket, said the price of four pints of semi-skimmed milk will drop 11% to 89p, while selected bread brands will be 21% cheaper.

Miners BHP Billiton, Anglo Ameircan, Antofagasta, Rio Tinto and Glencore were trading in the red, as base metal prices weakened and importing data from China, the world's largest metals consumer, disappointed.

Risers
Diageo (DGE) 1,877.50p +6.65%
Experian (EXPN) 1,223.00p +1.33%
Royal Mail (RMG) 499.10p +1.30%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 244.90p +1.18%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,152.00p +1.14%
Fresnillo (FRES) 727.00p +1.11%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,182.00p +1.03%
Wolseley (WOS) 4,042.00p +0.95%
Pearson (PSON) 1,308.00p +0.93%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,149.00p +0.89%

Fallers
Shire Plc (SHP) 5,345.00p -2.02%
GKN (GKN) 359.80p -1.94%
St James's Place (STJ) 890.00p -1.28%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 523.50p -1.23%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,572.00p -1.07%
Tesco (TSCO) 203.85p -0.95%
Barclays (BARC) 263.05p -0.90%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 2,370.00p -0.88%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,281.00p -0.85%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,114.00p -0.80%