The FTSE 100 opened modestly higher ahead of the Bank of England's rate decision later today. In early trade, the index was up just under a quarter of a percent at 8,223.
Among the movers, Sainsbury's is top of the leaderboard, up 2% after agreeing a deal to offload its core banking business to NatWest Group, even though it had to pay the lender £125 million to do it.
CMC Markets PLC (LSE:CMCX) jumped 9.1% after following the recent deal with Revolut by announcing full-year results well ahead of consensus forecasts.
Alpha Financial Markets Consulting is up another 3% on top of yesterday big jump, with the board formally backing a £626 million takeover by private equity group Bridgepoint. The fund management consultant said investors will receive 505p a share in cash, with the transaction expected to be completed in the third quarter, subject to a shareholder vote.
On the downside, Tate & Lyle fell close to 7% as investors don't seem to like the sound of its $1.8 billion acquisition of US rival CP Kelco and £215 million share buyback.
And YouGov plunged 41% after issuing a profit warning due to lower sales, mostly in continental Europe.
