The FTSE 100 gained ground as the week’s final day of trading got underway.
All eyes were on Vodafone though, which climbed after putting pen to paper on the £6.8 billion sale of its Italian operations to Swisscom.
Also in the green was Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, after it announced £1 billion was being set aside for share buybacks over the next two years.
Housebuilder Berkeley faced a worse start to the day though, as it fell after confirming sales were still muted and that full-year profits would likely be lower in a trading update.
Peers Barratt and Redrow also faced a blow meanwhile, with news that the Competition and Markets Authority had begun a probe into their proposed merger.
