Takeover talks boost FTSE

Takeover activity helped lift the London market higher today after blue-chip Old Mutual said it had entered into exclusive talks with HSBC to sell South African bank Nedbank.

Old Mutual, majority owner of Nedbank, saw its shares rise 3.9p or 3.2% in value to 124.9p, while HSBC rose 0.8%, up 5p to 635.5p.