Friday, Aug 17, 2012

1555 GMT [Dow Jones] FTSE 100 finishes up 0.3% at 5852.42 and ends the week overall slightly higher. There was a late flurry of excitement among mid-cap stocks after Chemring announced an expression of interest from the Carlyle Group. Chemring shares surge 32.3%. With the blue-chips, Lloyds Banking Group gains 3.7% and Barclays ends up 3.6%, following European peers. Sentiment is buoyed by hopes that Spain will ask for aid in the near future, which in turn could trigger an ECB bond-buying program. As for next week, the economic calendar is rather quiet, although the second release of 2Q GDP Friday will likely garner much attention after the disappointing preliminary print.(andrea.tryphonides@dowjones.com Twitter: @ATryphonides)

 

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 17, 2012 11:55 ET (15:55 GMT)