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UK stocks had started to gather pace by midday on Monday with the FTSE 100 trading 0.4% ahead at 7,154. All eyes were on a bidding war for supermarket chain Morrisons and an update later from Prime Minister Boris Johnson about further easing of Covid-related restrictions.
Morrisons jumped 11.3% to 266.77p after US private-equity firm Apollo Global Management said it was considering a possible offer for the British company. Only two days ago the supermarket agreed to a £6.3 billion takeover offer from private equity firm Fortress.
That means there are now three players trying to buy the company, including private equity group Clayton, Dubilier & Rice whose earlier £5.5 billion proposal was turned down by Morrisons which said it 'significantly undervalued' the company and its prospects.
Asia's main markets provided mixed messages earlier, while the US is taking an Independence Day break.
International Consolidated Airlines traded nearly 5% higher at 188.7p amid renewed optimism from investors that the airline sector would quickly bounce back. Air travel soared over the weekend in the US for 4 July celebrations, while there are reports that the corporate travel sector is starting to see early signs of a rebound.
Higher metals prices lifted shares in copper producer Antofagasta by 1.6% to £14.70, while Rio Tinto rose 1.5% to £60.45.
Engineer IMI was off 1% at £17.31 after Goldman Sachs cut its recommendation from 'buy' to 'neutral'.
Hipgnosis Songs Fund, the owner of the rights to songs from artists including Neil Young and Shakira, drifted 0.2% to 122.12p despite reporting a jump in annual earnings and raising its annual dividend target.
HydrogenOne Capital Growth said it plans to list on the UK stock market to raise £250 million to investing in clean hydrogen projects. The company said it expects to publish a prospectus shortly for the 100p per share offering on the London Stock Exchange's premium segment, and to close the issue by the end of July.
Defence contractor Ultra Electronics firmed 2.8% to £23.66 after it said trading in the first half had been ahead of its expectations. Ultra said its order book continued to grow and was significantly ahead of last year.
Franchising group Franchise Brands slipped 2% to 147.49p on announcing that it expected to report annual results 'at least' in line with market expectations. Sales at the company's Metro Rod drainage services unit, it said, had returned to pre-Covid growth levels in the first half.
Data management group Restore climbed 3.4% to 404.45p, having confirmed that it would reinstate its dividend for the first half, following a strong second quarter. Restore said trading continued to strengthen through the first half, with second-quarter performance ahead of its previous expectations.
Technology services group The Panoply was flat at 281.5p after posting a full-year loss after a 62% jump in revenue was more than offset by expenses. However, the company upgraded guidance for the current financial year, saying it expected revenue and operating earnings to be 'significantly' ahead of current market forecasts.