(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors)London Close London's blue chip stocks ended the day higher as traders banked on a last minute deal between Greece and its creditors. European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said new proposals submitted by Greece to its creditors were a 'basis for progress'. The proposals included tax rises and spending cuts actions that Greece's prime minister Alexis Tsipras had previously refused to countenance. As he was one of sternest critics of the Greek government equity markets leapt on the news even though there has very little concrete detail so far. Markets were higher across Europe with both the French Cac 40 and the German Dax gaining 3.8% respectively. In the UK the FTSE 100 climbed higher after the markets opened on Wall Street to finish 1.7% ahead at 6825. Leading the way higher was Severn Trent (LON:SVT) after a report over the weekend suggested it had caught the eye of Borealis Infrastructure. Borealis was a key member of the LongRiver consortium that almost launched a takeover bid for Severn Trent two years ago. Shares leapt 5.8% to 2176p. In other M&A news UK oven-maker AGA is reportedly drawing the attention of US firm Middleby Corp who is reportedly prepared as much as £2 a share for the company. It's a big premium compared to its current share price which was 1.39% higher to £1.46. Elsewhere Spire Healthcare (LON:SPI) surged 11% to 355p as Remgro the major shareholder in South Africa-based private hospital group Mediclinic took a 29.9% stake in Spire with the intention of selling it on to Mediclinic later. The stake was acquired from private equity group Cinven for £432mln equivalent to 360p a share. Pay-TV pioneer Sky (LON:SKY) is wanted following reports at the weekend that the Murdochs have rejected two approaches for their 39% stake - one from Vivendi and the other from Vodafone (LON:VOD). Canal+ owner Vivendi was interested in acquiring Sky but the Murdochs reportedly want £18 per share a more than 70% premium to Friday's closing price. The news led to speculation that the Murdochs have not fully given up their ambitions to take over the satellite broadcaster. Shares added 36p to 1074p. One bid that did materialise was Ferrero's takeover of chocolate retailer Thorntons (LON:THT) at 145p per share a 35% premium to last week. The bid was launched after Ferrero had acquired a 29.9% stake in Thorntons; the latter's shares jumped 43p to 145p on the news In broker news P&O cruise owner Carnival (LON:CCL) following an upgrade by Deutsche Bank. Analyst Richard Carter said he expected Carnival's second quarter earnings to be above the upper end of its guidance. The broker upgraded its rating on the stock to a 'buy' and lifted its target price to 3525p up from 3400p. Shares climbed 3.8% to 3288p. To small caps - and Savannah Resources (LON:SAV) was a stand-out among the small caps as it took the seemingly sensible decision to develop its mineral sands operation jointly with Rio Tinto. Savannah's Jangamo prospect in Mozambique is next door to Rio Tinto's sites and Savannah will be the operator of a project containing all three licences. Shares jumped 95% to 4.05p. Also higher was Lansdowne Oil & Gas (LON:LOGP). The company has a 20% stake in the Midleton Prospect which Petronas unit Kinsale Energy has contracted the Ocean Guardian drilling rig to drill a well on. Shares climbed 18.1% to 6.2p. US Open US stocks opened higher to open the week on the front foot following on from some eye-catching gains in Europe. European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said new proposals submitted by Greece to its creditors were a 'basis for progress'. The proposals included tax rises and spending cuts actions that Greece's prime minister Alexis Tsipras had previously refused to countenance. With relatively little by way of US economic news investors jumped on the positive sentiment in Europe sending the three main US indices higher. The Dow Jones jumped 120 points to 18139 while the Nasdaq climbed 36 points to 5150 and the broader S&P 500 rose 13 to 2123. The big news of the day came from none other than pop singer Taylor Swift who wrote an open letter to Apple to campaign for singers to be paid for songs listened to by customers trying out Apple's music service. Apple replied with a tweet saying it would pay artists for music streamed to customers during a free trial period. The company which harvests 30% of the price for any download without investing money to sign or develop artists has often been accused of having its foot firmly on the throat of the music industry. Investors saw the move as a good idea and shares in Apple climbed 0.6% to US$127 on the news. Away from Taylor Swift shares of Williams surged after the natural-gas pipeline giant said over the weekend that it had rejected an unsolicited buyout offer worth US$48bn. It did not name the company that made the bid. Today Energy Transfer Equity said it was to bid US$53.1 billion for Williams. Shares in Williams rocketed almost 25% to US$ 60 while ETE nudged lower to US$68. There seems to be no slowing down for Fitbit as it continued to rise again today. The wearable device expert was 10% to US$35 on its third day of trading after jumping 50% on its debut. Meanwhile in the UK the FTSE 100 climbed 1.3% to 6800 led higher by P&O cruise owner Carnival (LON:CCL) after an upgrade from Deutsche Bank. The broker upgraded its rating on the stock to a 'buy' and lifted its target price to 3525p up from 3400p. Shares climbed 4% to 3295p. London lunchtime A cocktail of mergers & acquisitions (M&A) news and optimism over an agreement between Greece and its European pay-masters has intoxicated investors. The FTSE 100 was up 74 points at 6784 as European Commission (EC) president Jean-Claude Juncker said new proposals submitted to the heads of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) European Central Bank (ECB) and the EC last night were were a 'basis for progress'. The proposals included tax rises and spending cuts actions that Greece's prime minister Alexis Tsipras had previously refused to countenance. The country has until the end of the month to pay €1.6bn to the IMF or face default. On the M&A front Spire Healthcare (LON:SPI) surged 9% to 349p as Remgro the major shareholder in South Africa-based private hospital group Mediclinic took a 29.9% stake in Spire with the intention of selling it on to Mediclinic later. The stake was acquired from private equity group Cinven for £432mln equivalent to 360p a share. Pay-TV pioneer Sky (LON:SKY) is wanted following reports at the weekend that the Murdochs have rejected two approaches for their 39% stake - one from Vivendi and the other from Vodafone (LON:VOD). Canal+ owner Vivendi was interested in acquiring Sky but the Murdochs reportedly want £18 per share a more than 70% premium to Friday's closing price. The news led to speculation that the Murdochs have not fully given up their ambitions to take over the satellite broadcaster. Shares added 35p to 1073p. One bid that did materialise twas Ferrero's agreed bid for chocolate retailer Thorntons (LON:THT) of 145p per share a 35% premium to last week. The bid was launched after Ferrero had acquired a 29.9% stake in Thorntons; the latter's shares jumped 43p to 144p on the news. In broker news P&O cruise owner Carnival (LON:CCL) led the risers on the FTSE 100 following an upgrade by Deutsche Bank. Analyst Richard Carter said he expected Carnival's second quarter earnings to be above the upper end of its guidance. The broker upgraded its rating on the stock to a 'buy' and lifted its target price to 3525p up from 3400p. Shares climbed 4.2% to 3300p. Elsewhere Savannah Resources (LON:SAV) was a stand-out among the small caps as it took the seemingly sensible decision to develop its mineral sands operation jointly with Rio Tinto. Savannah's Jangamo prospect in Mozambique is next door to Rio Tinto's sites and Savannah will be the operator of a project containing all three licences. Shares jumped 79% to 3.73p. In other small cap news self-styled full service innovation provider Imaginatik (LON:IMTK) was 37% higher to 7.88p on reports that Rob Quindell through his Quob Park Estates investment vehicle had been buying shares in the company. Imaginatik said today however that while it was aware of reports that Quob Park Estates has been buying shares in the company it has had no contact with the company. Meanwhile beleaguered gas explorer Afren (LON:AFR) was another 10% lower today to 1.5p after the company released a prospectus after the close of trading on Friday relating to its proposed restructuring and refinancing. London Open A possible breakthrough in talks over Greece's debt crisis sent markets across Europe soaring. Footsie jumped 90 points to 6800 as conciliatory noises coming out of Greece seemed to get a warm response among European Union hawks. Proposals included tax rises and spending cuts actions that Greece's prime minister Alexis Tsipras had previously refused to countenance. The country has until the end of the month to pay €1.6bn to the IMF or face default. Most shares were buoyed by the news with the exception of gold miner Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) which fell 74p to 4424p as some of the Greece default possibility went out of the gold price. Meanwhile BSkyB (LON:BSY) was one of the best risers with reports at the weekend that the Murdochs have rejected two approaches for their 39% stake from Vivendi and Vodafone (LON:VOD). Canal+ owner Vivendi was interested in acquiring Sky but the Murdochs reportedly want £18 per share a more than 70% premium to Friday's closing price. The news led to speculation that the Murdochs have not fully given up their ambitions to take over the satellite broadcaster. Shares added 40p to 1078p with talk of an £18 per share offer. One bid that did materialise this morning was Ferrero's mandatory bid for chocolate retailer Thorntons (LON:THT) of 145p per share a 35% premium to last week. Shares in Thorntons jumped 43% to 144p on the news. In broker news P&O cruise owner Carnival (LON:CCL) led the risers on the FTSE 100 following an upgrade by Deutsche Bank. Analyst Richard Carter said he expected Carnival's second quarter earnings to be above the upper end of its guidance. The broker upgraded its rating on the stock to a 'buy' and lifted its target price to 3525p up from 3400p. Shares climbed 4.2% to 3302p. Elsewhere Savannah Resources (LON:SAV) was a stand out among the small caps as it took the seemingly sensible decision to develop its mineral sands operation jointly with Rio Tinto. Savannah's Jangamo prospect in Mozambique is next door to Rio Tinto's sites and it will be the operator of a project containing all three licences. Shares jumped 83% to 3.8p. In other small cap news self-styled full service innovation provider Imaginatik (LON:IMTK) was 37% higher to 7.88p on reports that Rob Quindell through his Quob Park Estates had been buying shares in the company. Imaginatik said today however that while it was aware of reports that Quob Park Estates has been buying shares in the company it has had no contact with the company. Meanwhile beleaguered gas explorer Afren (LON:AFR) was another 10% lower today to 1.5p after the company released a prospectus after the close of trading on Friday relating to its proposed restructuring and refinancing. It intends to issue US$369mln of high yield notes convert around US$234mln of existing notes and issue about US$75mln of new shares at a penny each.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.