Bid talk surrounding mobile phone giant Vodafone saw it lead London's top-flight higher today as it crept above the 7,000-mark.
The group topped the risers' board after John Malone, the chairman of US cable group Liberty Global, said it would make "a great fit", sending shares up 5%, or 12.2p, to 238.8p.
The FTSE 100 Index closed12.2 points higher at 7007.3 in a session that saw traders react to the release of a batch corporate results, including the first profits rise at Marks & Spencer in four years.
Meanwhile Barclays shurgged off a £1.53 billion settlement over foreign exchange rate rigging with US and UK regulators as its shares rose 3%, or 8.8p, to 271.6p.
State-backed Royal Bank of Scotland, which agreed to pay a further 669 million US dollars (£430 million) to US authorities, on top of penalties totalling £399 million penalty, was also up. Shares climbed 6.2p to 354.7p.
The pound was a cent higher against the euro, at 1.40, after Greece reiterated it will not be able to repay a loan to the International Monetary Fund early next month unless a deal is reached with its creditors to unblock bailout funds. Sterling was also up against the dollar, at 1.55.
M&S fell 2p to 583.5p after it announced a long-awaited profit rise, with its beleaguered general merchandise arm - including clothing - ending 14 quarters in a row of like-for-like declines with a 0.7% lift in the most recent period. Shares have risen by a fifth since the start of the year.
The retailer hiked its dividend and said it expected to return £150 million of cash to investors through a share buy-back programme, although some traders had expected more.
Burberry led the fallers after after the luxury fashion label posted flat annual profits and cut its outlook for the coming year as its bottom line was hit by currency movements.
Adjusted pre-tax profits showed an underlying rise of 7% but a £38 million hit from foreign exchange rate fluctuations left them 1% lower at £456 million. Shares fell 5%, or 91p, to 1717p.
Elsewhere, shares in energy giant SSE fell 15p to 1681p after it reported a small rise in annual profits to £1.5 billion and said it faced a number of pressures at the start of the new financial year.
The utility added it had lost more than 500,000 customer accounts, despite its pledge to freeze bills until at least July 2016.
Away from the top flight housebuilder Crest Nicholson advanced for the second day in a row after it said its forward sales jumped by a quarter to 1,786 homes in the six months to April 30 compared with a year ago, buoyed by stamp duty reforms and a more competitive mortgage market.
Shares lifted 18p to 541.5p.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 Index were Vodafone up 12.2p at 238.8p, Barclays up 8.8p at 271.6p, Mondi up 36p at 1521p and Barratt Developments up 10.5p at 598.5p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 Index were Burberry down 91p at 1717p, Intu Properties down 7.3p at 346.8p, Hammerson down 13.5p at 690p and Hargreaves Lansdown down 24p at 1256p.
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