FTSE 100 movers: Weir leads risers on bid speculation

25th Sep 2012 15:49

Weir is leading the risers on the back of speculation that GE, which yesterday said it was keeping an eye out for potential acquisitions, might be about to make a bid for the engineering giant. Hot on its tail, Carnival rose after reporting continuing strength in fleetwide booking volumes and pricing trends since June. The cruise operator posted a year-on-year decline in net revenue yields for the third quarter to the end of August. ARM Holdings rose on the back of positive comments out from analysts at Barclays regarding the outlook for cell phone demand in China. More specifically, its analysts commented that: "Our positive stance on ARM and Imagination in part has been based on the potential for strong growth in the Chinese mobile market, with both names benefiting materially from the proliferation of lower priced, higher volume smartphones." British booze giant, Diageo, also rose after it confirmed it is in talks to invest in Indian outfit United Spirits. Helping thing along perhaps, analysts at Nomura today reiterated their buy recommendation on the company´s shares (and 2000p target) saying that: "Last year's investor event in Shanghai set out a strategy of investing for growth in Asia, which looks to be on track. We believe that continuing high double-digit EBIT growth in this region will help the group to increase organic EBIT overall at least as fast as last year (we estimate 9% in FY 13). In addition, we continue to see scope for value creation through M&A in spirits."Meanwhile, rumours that Singapore investment fund Temasek has sounded out potential buyers for its £6.0bn stake in Standard Chartered are sapping support for the emerging markets focused bank. Defence group BAE Systems and aerospace giant EADS, which recently confirmed they are in talks with one another over a possible merger, were once again the subject of speculation after sources claimed they are considering whether to increase EADS's stake in the new company. The news knocked BAE shares lower. FTSE 100 - RisersWeir Group (WEIR) 1,811.00p +4.02%Carnival (CCL) 2,347.00p +3.57%Hammerson (HMSO) 460.50p +2.52%Diageo (DGE) 1,757.50p +1.94%ARM Holdings (ARM) 583.50p +1.92%British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 752.00p +1.83%Land Securities Group (LAND) 776.50p +1.64%Old Mutual (OML) 175.80p +1.56%Compass Group (CPG) 722.50p +1.55%Barclays (BARC) 223.45p +1.45%FTSE 100 - FallersEvraz (EVR) 250.70p -4.13%Xstrata (XTA) 974.00p -2.58%Glencore International (GLEN) 345.45p -2.46%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 324.20p -1.94%BAE Systems (BA.) 328.60p -1.79%Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,715.00p -1.77%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,457.00p -1.59%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,016.00p -1.26%CRH (CRH) 1,215.00p -1.22%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,945.50p -1.16%NR