THG receives buyout proposal from private equity, FTSE 100 posts best run since December 2020 – as it happened

People on London Bridge in front of the City of London skyline. Photograph: Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock

4.41pm BST

FTSE 100 extends gains

And finally, the UK stock market has racked up its longest winning streak since December 2020.

The FTSE 100 index has closed slightly higher, finishing 8 points higher at 7,879.51 , up 0.1%.

That’s its seventh daily rise in a row, a run last seen 29 months ago.

As covered earlier, share prices benefitted from a pickup on economic optimism, and hopes that interest rates rises may end soon.

A burst of takeover fever also cheered the City today, as last month’s jitters over the banking sector ease.

British Airways parent company IAG finished as the top riser, up 3%.

Updated at 6.31pm BST

4.12pm BST

Indices Update: As of 14:00, these are your best and worst performers based on the London trading schedule:
FTSE 100: 0.11%
Germany 40: 0.03%
Wall Street: 0.03%
US 500: -0.09%
France 40: -0.14%
View the performance of all markets via https://t.co/2NUaqnUPED pic.twitter.com/iS7eMaiqrm

— DailyFX Team Live (@DailyFXTeam) April 17, 2023