Retailers higher in London

Equities markets on London were higher on Tuesday, with the FTSE 100 adding 0.3 percent to 6,182.5 and the FTSE 250 finishing at a new high of 10,401.6, a gain of 0.4 percent on the session.

Retailers were higher. J Sainsbury added 1.2 percent to 396¾p after bids rumors surfaced late in the session, with private equity said to be interested. Marks & Spencer was helped by an increased target share price and increased earnings forecasts for both 2006 and 2007 from JP Morgan. M&S gained 1.3 percent to 656p.

In the leisure sector Whitbread, which owns Premier Travel Inns, added 4 percent to £14.05 on talk that it is ripe for offers after lower than predicted cash returns.

Miners were lower on the session, with BHP Billiton 0.6 percent lower to £10.14. Anglo American dropped 1.5 percent to £23.79 after the appointment of a new executive that was said to make Anglo more vulnerable to a bid.

British Energy was lower, as well, declining 3.5 percent to 422p after Societe General issued comments that indicated it thinks the energy generator ‘s output could drop by 8.5 tera-watt hours if it has to cut boiler temperatures at its older power plants. It was estimated that such an output decline could send shares down by 110p.