Updates from BP, Whitbread and Stagecoach

The FTSE 100 crept 14.47 points forward on Monday to 6,700.1. Pfizer's chasing of AstraZeneca saw the share price of the British acquisition target soar, up 14.38% to 4666.50p. Other rises were far more restrained: witness a 2.61% climb for Sainsbury's, to 330.50p. ARM Holdings took the biggest drop, down 3.23% to 915p.

Across the water the Dow Jones lifted 0.53% to 16,448 after mixed trading, helped by a surge in health stocks. %VIRTUAL-SkimlinksPromo%