Dubai bail-out comes as a relief to FTSE investors

Investors around the world moved back into riskier assets on Monday following Abu Dhabi's $10 billion bail out of Dubai

Holly Cook | 14-12-09 | E-mail Article

Global equities experienced a resurgence on Monday as markets breathed a sigh of relief following Abu Dhabi’s $10 billion bail out of to Dubai, which, coupled with a strong take-up of Lloyds Banking Group’s rights issue and a fresh round of M&A activity, cheered investors around the world.

The FTSE 100 index closed 1.0% higher, up 53.8 points at 5,315.3, while the FTSE 250 index gained 37.1 points or 0.4% to 9,037.8. European indices put in similarly strong performances, while Wall Street made tentative gains in early US deals.

The news from the Gulf over the weekend not only increased investors’ appetite for risk but also attracted buyers to particular stocks exposed to the region. London Stock Exchange, which is part-owned by Borse Dubai surged 9.9% to the top of the blue-chip leaderboard on Monday, while banks Standard Chartered, HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland each added between 1.4% and 4.3%.

Fellow bank Lloyds closed down 1.9% as it completed the UK’s largest eve r rights issue at £13.5 billion. The fact that the group reported a 95.3% take-up rate was seen as a broad positive, however.

Financials apart, the commodities sector saw active trading as investors moved back into oils and metals as the US dollar retreated. Lonmin, Antofagasta and Anglo American were among the top-performing miners, 3.0%-3.7% firmer, while Tullow Oil, BG Group, Royal Dutch Shell and BP added 1.0%-3.2% apiece on sector consolidation news.

ExxonMobil announced today it will buy XTO Energy in a $41 billion all-stock transaction—a deal that marks a dramatic shift on the part of the premier major integrated firm to bet large on US unconventional gas.

In other M&A activity, Cadbury continued to rebuff Kraft, stressing that the latter’s offer undervalues its business, as the UK confectionary firm raised its four-year sales and margins targets. Cadbury closed 0.6% ahead.

The pharmaceuticals sector was also buoyed by deals, as US firm Cubist Pharmaceuticals said it will buy privately-held biopharmaceutical company Calixa Therapeutics for $92.5 million in cash. In the UK, industry peers Shire and GlaxoSmithKline rose 2.1% and 1.6%, respectively.

Elsewhere, Whitbread jumped 3.8% after informing the market that it expects full-year results to “somewhat exceed” current consensus forecasts though management emphasised that this does not mean it is ready to call a general recovery in the market.

Holly Cook is Site Editor of Morningstar.co.uk and Hemscott.com. She would like to hear from you but cannot give financial advice. You can contact the author via this feedback form.
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