By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks rose Thursday, with ITV PLC
shares gaining after the broadcaster reached an acquisition deal,
but Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC shares fell following a wider loss
at the supermarket chain.
The FTSE 100 rose 0.7% to 6,766.12 as all sectors advanced, led
by basic materials group. There, shares of Antofagasta PLC climbed
2.5% after reaching an agreement to end a protest at its Los
Pelambres copper mine in Chile.
ITV climbed 1.8% as it said it's agreed to purchase Talpa Media
BV for up to 781 million pounds ($1.17 billion). The entertainment
show producer is behind programs including "The Voice", and company
founder John De Mol established "Big Brother." ITV will make an
initial cash payment of GBP355 million for Talpa.
But shares of Morrisons fell 1.1%, with the company saying its
fiscal 2015 underlying pretax profit dropped by more than half, to
GBP345 million from GBP719 million
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/morrisons-yearly-net-loss-widens-2015-03-12).
It also indicated a dividend cut, saying from fiscal 2016 it
expects to pay a dividend of 5 pence per share or less.
The FTSE 100 on Wednesday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-higher-after-string-of-losses-2015-03-11)edged
up 0.3%.
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