By Sarah Turner
Property firms climbed in a weaker London on Friday, with
British Land one of the strongest performers after a news report
said that it could be a takeover target.
British Land shares rose 4.3% in the top London index.
The gains came after the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that
a consortium is planning to bid as much as 10 billion pounds ($16.5
billion) for the firm, which is one of Britain's biggest property
developers.
The consortium is thought to include Lakshmi Mittal and the Abu
Dhabi ruling family, the paper reported.
Shares were higher even after British Land said that it hasn't
received interest from potential bidders, Dow Jones Newswires
reported.
Other listed property firms were also higher, with Liberty
International shares up 0.6% and Hammerson shares up 1.5%. Land
Securities shares rose 1.2%.
The FTSE 100 index declined 0.9% to 4,714.92. Other European
shares were also lower.
The U.S. consumer sentiment index unexpectedly declined in early
August to 63.2 from 66.0 in July, according to media reports on
Friday of the Reuters/University of Michigan index.
Shares have notched fresh 2009 highs in recent sessions, with
investors increasingly optimistic that the economic backdrop is
improving.
However, some of the companies that have performed well in
recent sessions were lower on Friday afternoon, with miner Rio
Tinto (RTP) down 2.1%.
Banks were also under pressure, with HSBC Holdings (HBC) down
3.2% and Barclays (BCS) shares down 1.2%.
Outside the top index, shares of easyJet traded down 1.9%.
Credit Suisse cut its rating on the airline, Europe's
second-largest low-cost carrier, to neutral from outperform, citing
the 22% increase in its share price over the past month as well as
the potential pressure on near-term ticket prices.
In particular, the broker expressed concern at the company's
plan to increase capacity by 10% this winter because of its
potential impact on fares.