Morning markets: M&A activity drives FTSE higher

The FTSE 100 opened at 5,211, rising close to 6 points or 0.11% in early trading following a flurry of M&A activity.

South Korean state oil company KNOC made a hostile takeover bid for Scottish petroleum exploration firm Dana Petroleum. Dana has yet to comment on the $2.9bn (£1.9bn) cash offer, which values shares at £18 each. The stock was up 5.78% to 1,1793 this morning as the news broke.

Meanwhile pub and restaurant operator Mitchells & Butler revealed plans to sell off a portfolio of 333 British pubs to Stonegate Pub Company, controlled by private equity firm TDR Capital, in a £373m deal.

The largest gainer was BG Group, up 2.91% to 1,060, while BP was the worst laggard, down 2.38 to 377.5 today.

In Europe, the French Cac 40 opened slightly higher at 3,577, up 0.15% or 5.27 points. Winners included telecoms firm Alcatel-Lucent, healthcare provider Sanofi-Aventis, and utility firm GDF Suez.

The German Dax was broadly flat with just a 0.01% fall, with Deutsche Telekom and Siemens among the strongest stocks.

In the US, markets closed lower last night following worse than expected labour market and manufacturing data. The Nasdaq closed 1.66% or 36.75 points lower at 2,179, while the Dow Jones closed at 10,271, a 1.39% or 144.33 point fall