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* Sage rises on 4.4% growth in H1 recurring revenue
* Sanne surges on rejecting $1.90 bln buyout proposal
* FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 up 1.2
(Updates with market close)
By Shivani Kumaresan and Devik Jain
May 14 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 rose on Friday,
supported by banks and energy stocks but clocked its worst
weekly performance since February on inflation worries, while
Sanne Group topped the mid-cap index after rejecting a $1.90
billion buyout proposal.
The blue-chip index rose 1.2%, with Banks
and oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell
being the biggest boosts to the index. The index is
down 1.2% for the week, its biggest weekly fall since
February.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set out what he describes
as a "cautious but irreversible" route out of lockdown for
England, starting next week. He has, however, warned that new
variants could derail that.
"Monday, the UK unlocks another part of the lockdown. That
has given confidence to the market and we have had boisterous
commentary from players of the Bank of England this week about
growth picking up steam," said Keith Temperton, a sales trader
at Forte Securities.
"Everyone’s got their eyes on inflation right now and that
will be the driver for markets from here on. So the CPI data
next week will be hotly watched."
After rising nearly 11% this year on reopening optimism, the
FTSE 100 has pared some of those gains in the last few sessions
on worries that central banks might tighten their ultra-loose
monetary policies sooner than expected to curb inflation.
The domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index
advanced 1.2%.
Software company Sage Group added 3.8% after
reporting strong first-half organic recurring revenue and
forecasting annual growth at the top end of its 3% to 5% range.
Spirits maker Diageo rose 1.5% after brokerages
raised their price targets on the stock.
Alternative asset and corporate services firm Sanne Group
jumped 21.2% after it rejected private-equity firm
Cinven's 1.35-billion-pound ($1.90 billion) buyout offer.
(Reporting by Shivani Kumaresan and Devik Jain in Bengaluru;
Editing by Anil D'Silva and David Gregorio)
