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A solid start to trading on Wall Street helped the FTSE 100 regain some poise after a rollercoaster week, finishing 0.4% higher at 7,087.90.
Supermarket chain Morrisons said it had accepted an improved £7 billion takeover by the US private equity group Clayton, Dubilier & Rice amid competition from rival bidder Fortress Investment. It advanced 4.3% to 291p.
Retailer Marks & Spencer gained 11.1% to 158.6p as it upgraded full year profit guidance.
Pharma giant AstraZeneca said its rare disease business Alexion is discontinuing trial of a drug candidate to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a rare neurodegenerative disease due to a lack of efficacy. It fell 0.6% to £86.83.
AstraZeneca also said results from a late-stage trial showed its COVID-19 combination antibody AZD7442 reduced the risk of developing symptomatic COVID-19 by 77%, meeting the primary goal of the study.
Telecommunications services provider Airtel Africa said Qatar Holding had had reached first closing of the minority investment in Airtel's mobile money business. It nudged up 0.2% to 94.25p.
LXi REIT announced several acquisitions including a Life Science and Biotech campus in York, STV's media studios and HQ facility in Glasgow, and waste recycling and storage facility in Aberdeen, for a combined £80 million. It ticked up 0.6% to 144.2p.
OneSavings Bank, the lending and retail sales bank based in Chatham, UK, has announced profits for the six months to 30 June 2021 climbed to £252.8 million, a 62% spike compared to the same period last year. It was broadly unchanged at 498.2p.
Insulation and building envelope solutions Kingspan reported higher first-half profit, driven by high levels of demand and a global recovery in the construction sector. It moved 3.1% higher.
Logistics solutions company Clipper Logistics said it had won a new five-year contract with Ireland-based sports retailer Life Style Sports. IT dipped 0.4% to 512p.