At the current rate, we could see the FTSE 100 break through the 8,000 level by early next week, which would represent a long-overdue victory for the UK stock market.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “The market is up another 48 points today to 7,932 thanks to renewed takeover chatter in the banking sector, a well-received set of results from AstraZeneca and another leg up from the energy sector.
“Reports suggest First Abu Dhabi Bank is still interested in buying Standard Chartered, despite guidance to the contrary last month.
“If successful, it would represent yet another UK stock acquired by a foreign player. It would also play to the theory that industry players are more likely to buy UK-listed companies than private equity in the current environment.
“Whereas the sharp rise in the cost of debt has made life harder for private equity to do leveraged deals, a lot of businesses have come out of the pandemic in a robust financial shape and have plenty of cash on their books to buy rivals in their respective sectors.”
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