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UK stocks rose modestly in early trading on Monday after American lawmakers passed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill, with investors still bracing for key US inflation data due later in the week.
At 0819, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 8.1 points, or 0.1%, at 7,312.06.
Gambling company Playtech advanced 2.4% to 725p on confirming that it had received a takeover approach from Gopher Investments, potentially rivalling an existing bid from Aristocrat Leisure.
Playtech last month agreed to accept an offer from Aristocrat at 680p per share, valuing the entire company at around £2.1 billion. It said the talks with Gopher were at an 'early stage'.
Mining giant BHP rose 0.3% to £19.15 after it agreed to sell its 80% stake in the BHP Mitsui metallurgical coal joint venture in Queensland, Australia, to Stanmore Resources for up to $1.35 billion.
BHP said completion of the deal was expected mid-2022.
Investment company Abrdn gained 0.7% to 257.5p, having confirmed that it was in talks to acquire fund supermarket Interactive Investor from J.C. Flowers & Co.
Abrdn was in advanced talks to buy Interactive Investor for more than £1.5 billion, Sky News reported over the weekend.
German business park investor Sirius Real Estate shed 2.6% to 134.4p even as it booked a 26% rise in first-half profit underpinned by higher rental revenue and property valuations.
The company also announced a £135 million share issue to help fund the £245 million acquisition of BizSpace, a provider of regional flexible workspace in the UK.
Sirius declared an interim dividend of 2.04c per share, up 12% year-on-year. The issue price for the equity raising was being determined via a bookbuild process.
Defence play BAE Systems fell 0.3% to 572.4p after it affirmed the improved full-year guidance given at its interim results.
BAE's sales for 2021 still were expected to grow by 3-5% and is underlying operating earnings by 6-8%.
Precious metals miner Polymetal International firmed 2.2% to £13.96 on announcing that it had approved the construction of the Veduga gold project in the Krasnoyarsk region of Russia.
Polymetal had sanctioned a $447 million investment in the asset, for which first production was expected in the second quarter of 2025.
Equities investor Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust edged up 0.2% to £15.3102, having achieved a 16% rise in its first-half net asset value per share, beating a 9% rise in the FTSE All-World index.
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust declared an interim dividend of 1.52p per share, up 5% year-on-year.
Oil services company Petrofac added 1.5% to 132.4p following news that it had won a contract worth MYR399 million ($96 million) from Malaysian national oil company Petronas.
The work would encompass the delivery of the Bintulu additional gas sales facilities 2 (BAGSF-2) plant located onshore at Tanjung Kidurong, Bintulu, in the Malaysian state of Sarawak.