FTSE 100 movers: Balfour boosted by deal news

17th Sep 2009 12:22

Balfour Beatty, the construction group, tops the risers today after it announced a rights issue of up to £353m to fund the acquisition of Parsons Brinckerhoff, a US consultancy business. The Parsons Brinckerhoff acquisition is conditional on shareholder approval and the completion of the rights issue.Ian Tyler, Balfour Beatty chief executive, said: "We believe this will make us one of the world's major players in professional services. "It substantially strengthens our US presence and puts Balfour Beatty in an excellent position to take advantage of increased infrastructure spending."British Airways continues to rise with sentiment today boosted by broker Goldman Sachs suggesting there is still time for investors to get on board. The US investment bank has added the British airline to its 'conviction buy' list, and suggested that despite the strong gains already made by the share price there is potential for the shares to advance by a further 45% if revenue starts to pick up. British Airways' lucrative North Atlantic routes means the airlines' profits should increase more rapidly than many of its competitors once demand for air travel picks up., Goldman said.Tullow Oil, meanwhile, anncounced another big oil discovery in Uganda. Following on from Monday's announcement about the discovery on the Venus prospect in Sierrra Leone, Tullow has announced a discovery at Ngassa in Block 2 in Uganda, where it has a 100% working interest. Panmure Gordon notes the test result on the Ugandan discovery is far from conclusive but that Tullow feels it could be the largest field in the basin found thus far. FTSE 100 - RisersBalfour Beatty (BBY) 370.10p +7.59%British Airways (BAY) 239.90p +5.50%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,237.00p +4.21%Rexam (REX) 273.00p +3.29%Antofagasta (ANTO) 774.50p +2.72%Pennon Group (PNN) 501.50p +2.66%Petrofac Ltd (PFC) 1,015.00p +2.42%Wolseley (WOS) 1,498.00p +2.32%Rolls-Royce Group (RR.) 492.50p +2.28%London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 878.50p +2.09%FTSE 100 - FallersLonmin (LMI) 1,785.00p -2.51%Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) 896.00p -2.24%ICAP (IAP) 427.00p -1.68%Sage Group (SGE) 224.40p -1.36%3i Group (III) 302.70p -1.24%Kingfisher (KGF) 203.30p -1.07%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 369.80p -1.07%BG Group (BG.) 1,148.00p -1.03%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,155.00p -1.03%Invensys (ISYS) 302.90p -0.98%