FTSE 100 movers: Sky soars on takeover rumours, miners lower

London markets rebounded on Monday, buoyed by hopes of a short-term funding deal for Greece and strength in the construction, telecommunications and real estate sectors.

As of 2:30 BST, the FTSE 100 was trading 1.39% higher at 6,804.

Sky was in demand on rumours that the Murdoch family may be considering a fresh attempt to take full control of the UK broadband and pay-TV operator, after it knocked back approaches for its stake in the company from Vodafone and French media giant Vivendi.

Capita surged on news that it is the preferred bidder for an exclusive deal providing administrative support for NHS England's primary care operations.

Shares in UK water company Severn Trent rose following a report in The Sunday Times suggesting that Canadian infrastructure investor Borealis was once again considering a bid for the company.

Cruise operator Carnival advanced after Deutsche Bank lifted the stock to ‘buy’, while HSBC gained on an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Investec.

Randgold Resources topped the fallers as investors began to doubt that Greece will default and thereby stem the current rally for gold as a safe haven.

Fellow miners Fresnillo, Anglo American and Antofagasta followed suite, all trading in the red as three month delivery contracts for metals fell across the board on concerns for demand in China and Europe.

Risers
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,146.00p +4.43%
Carnival (CCL) 3,303.00p +4.26%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 521.50p +3.17%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 419.70p +3.12%
Sky (SKY) 1,069.00p +2.99%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 194.00p +2.97%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 978.50p +2.78%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,150.00p +2.68%
Intu Properties (INTU) 318.00p +2.51%
Unilever (ULVR) 2,840.00p +2.45%

Fallers
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,410.00p -1.96%
Fresnillo (FRES) 703.50p -1.26%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,928.00p -0.98%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,779.00p -0.67%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,448.00p -0.20%