Market report: Friday close

THE suspension of trade in the shares of

Scottish & Southern Energy added 5p to 645p, Scottish Power gained 4 3/4p to 372 3/4p and Northern Ireland's Viridian moved ahead 3/2p to 498 1/2p. National Grid was up 10p at 455p.

Spread betting bookies were calling the British Energy shares, if they return from their 80 3/4p suspension, at anything between 6p and 65p, though the more realistic eventually settled for 40p to 44p. The company's future now lies with the politicians, though it ought to be with the receiver.

Safeway was the highest blue-chip riser at one point on talk of a bid from Wal-Mart, which already owns Asda. Even after Safeway denied an approach had been made, its shares were 15p up at 221p. Sainsbury's added 13 1/4p to 322p and Tesco 4 1/2p to 213 1/4p as competition fears subsided. Unlike Tesco, Sainsbury's growth has been slowing and margins have been rising slowly in the increasingly competitive business. It has embarked on a cost-cutting programme that could save £400m by March 2004.

Centrica chief executive Sir Roy Gardener put his money where his mouth is, buying 50,000 shares at 178p. Good results earlier this week failed to boost the share price. Gardener's faith lifted them 1/2p at 179 1/2p.

UK output figures, showing the biggest rise in 23 years, provided an early boost to blue-chips. Promising figures on the August US employment market boosted markets on both sides of the Atlantic, but a small fall in the jobless rate triggered a rally in the FTSE 100 of 96.2 points to 4107.2.

Insurers bounced on hopes that Royal & SunAlliance (up 10p at 131p)would be able to raise much-needed cash. That helped haul up Friends Provident 6 1/2p to 136 1/2p and Prudential 10 1/2p to 475p.

Stagecoach rose 1/4p to 33 1/2p despite warning trading at its Coach USA division would be no better than last year. It also has seen a reduction in the sale of season tickets at SouthWest Trains in the UK. The share price collapsed in July when it revealed falling sales in the US and a drop in annual profits.

Engineering group Tomkins did its campaign to get back into the Footsie no harm when it told shareholders at its annual meeting that sales and operating profits were up 3.5% and 11.2%. Its shares added 8p to 238p, almost certainly ensuring its return when the constituents' committee holds its quarterly review next Wednesday.

World oil prices rocketed as 100 aircraft struck military installations in Iraq. Brent crude soared to its highest since April and BP added 17p to 473p with Shell up 16p at 416 1/2p.

The good run at pharmaceuticals group AstraZeneca continued as the US Food and Drug Administration approved its cancer treatment Armidex. That will enable the group to fight off competition from copycat manufacturers for its other cancer treatment Tamoxifan. The shares rose 60p to 2010p.

World markets, updated every 2 minutes
Every share, updated every 2 minutes
AIM, updated every 2 minutes
techMARK, updated every 2 minutes
Today's gainers and fallers
Geoff Foster reports on yesterday's trading