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March retail sales fall more-than-expected
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Network International jumps as Brookfield enters takeover
battle
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Glencore slips on fall in copper output
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FTSE 100 up 0.2%, FTSE 250 off 0.7%
(Adds comment; updates prices, details)
By Shristi Achar A and Johann M Cherian
April 21 (Reuters) - Britain's exporter-heavy FTSE 100
index closed higher on Friday, boosted by defensive stocks,
while Network International hit nearly a two-year high
after a Canadian wealth manager made a counter bid to take over
the payments provider.
Shares in mid-cap Network International Holdings Plc soared 10.3% after Brookfield Asset Management made a 2.13 billion pounds ($2.65 billion) takeover offer, raising the possibility of a bidding war.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index edged up 0.2% while the mid-cap FTSE 250 slipped 0.7%.
The FTSE 100 closed higher for the fifth-straight week, marking its longest streak of weekly gains in over a year despite economic data reflecting a stagnating economy and elevated inflation. However, its gains on Friday were curtailed by industrial miners , with the sector index dropping 4.2% and notching its worst performance in over a month as iron ore and copper prices fell on lower demand concerns. Glencore lost 2.2% after it became the latest among miners to report lower production for the first quarter. Earlier in the week Antofagasta also reported lower quarterly output. "Mining stocks are really dragging the index down with big heavyweight losses across the sector," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG Group. "Investors seem to jump at recession fears very quickly at the moment... it just means that any hope of a rally has now sort of sunk at this point in time." Keeping the export-focused FTSE afloat were defensive sectors like food, beverage and tobacco and pharmaceuticals that added 0.9 each. Sectors that have performed well this week were in the more recession-insured camp such as healthcare and utilities, while commodity-linked stocks and other cyclicals are among losers.
Meanwhile, data showed businesses reported a bounce in activity in April, while the UK's retail sales fell by a bigger-than-expected 0.9% in March from February.
Dowlais Group , the newly demerged company from
Melrose Industries , was the top gainer on the FTSE 100,
up 4.3%, a day after its spin-off was concluded.
(Reporting by Shristi Achar A and Johann M Cherian in
Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Emelia
Sithole-Matarise)
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