Coca-Cola deal provides some fizz for Ftse stocks

Britain’s top share index ended little changed after reaching a two-month high, though a rise in Ashtead Group and bottler Coca-Cola Hellenic provided support.

The Ftse 100 was flat at 7,041.42 points at its close, with trading volume low. The index had touched a fresh two-month high in early deals, having posted its highest close since October 11 in the previous session.

Coca-Cola Hellenic was up 1.3% after Coca-Cola bought a majority stake in an African bottling firm from AB InBev for $3.15bn (€3.03bn).