London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 8,219.31 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.
Mondi jumped to the top of the index after the paper and packaging firm announced the acquisition of the Western European corrugated converting and solid board assets of Schumacher Packaging, for an undisclosed sum.
Mondi said the deal will expand its corrugated footprint in key markets and add complementary fibre-based products focused on ecommerce and FMCG to enhance its existing offering.
United Utilities was higher as RBC Capital Markets upgraded the shares to ‘outperform’ from ‘sector perform’ and lifted the price target to 1,150p from 1,050p. RBC said it was switching to UU as its preferred play in the water space given its view on upside potential into Ofwat’s Final Determinations and a strong balance sheet position.
Rio Tinto was a little weaker after after saying it had struck a deal to buy Arcadium Lithium for $6.7bn, placing it among the main producers of the key component of electric vehicle batteries.
The mining giant said it was offering $5.85 a share in cash – a 90% premium to the stock’s closing price at the end of last week.
FTSE 100 – Risers
Mondi (MNDI) 1,468.00p 4.60%
Fresnillo (FRES) 636.00p 2.75%
Unite Group (UTG) 929.00p 2.20%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 379.50p 2.04%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,820.00p 1.68%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 641.00p 1.67%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,525.00p 1.61%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,021.50p 1.54%
Kingfisher (KGF) 314.70p 1.52%
IMI (IMI) 1,816.00p 1.45%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,007.00p -0.73%
BP (BP.) 404.10p -0.58%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 347.00p -0.46%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 111.40p -0.45%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 10,130.00p -0.39%
Next (NXT) 9,868.00p -0.38%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,726.00p -0.37%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 457.80p -0.35%
GSK (GSK) 1,448.00p -0.34%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,484.00p -0.34%