Wall Street surge boosts Footsie

Last night’s surge on Wall Street provided the momentum to keep London shares above the key 4600 support level today.

The FTSE 100 Index was 17.2 points up at 4600.6 by mid-morning after the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 138 points by the closing bell.

US companies produced some mixed results yesterday, with good numbers from Halliburton and Lockheed Martin helping sentiment, but chip stocks including Intel losing value during the session.

However, a rising conviction that a probe into the insurance industry will end quickly underpinned progress on the other side of the Atlantic.

In London, drugs group Shire Pharmaceuticals was the highest riser after winning approval of US regulators for its Fosrenol treatment for patients with severe kidney disease. Shares rose nearly 4% or 20.5p to 542.25p.

Shares in supermarket chain Sainsbury’s were also advancing, up 0.25p at 251.75p, as the possibility that it may face a takeover bid continued to sway investors.

But consumer products giant Unilever slipped 7.5p to 442p after revealing that sales of its top 400 brands shrank by 1% in the third quarter.

Elsewhere, water group South Staffs gushed more than 13% higher or 130p to 1095p after directors backed a £142.6 million takeover offer from a group of Middle Eastern investors.

Speculation that the deal could herald an era of consolidation in the water industry boosted shares in a clutch of rivals, with top-flight stock Severn Trent up 11.5p to 913p and Anglian Water owner AWG ahead 13.5p at 733.5p.

Energy group Centrica dropped 1.75p to 236.5p after saying it had bought a gas exploration firm holding a 50% stake in gas fields in the North Sea.

But food group Geest put on 0.5p to 553.5p after saying it had launched a joint business with a chicken supplier to produce meals using raw ingredients that are cooked by the consumer rather than being heated up.