BAT Deal Lifts U.K. Consumer Shares Trading Cheapest Since 2009

(Bloomberg) -- British American Tobacco Plc’s offer to buy the rest of Reynolds American Inc. led to an advance in consumer stocks, just as they had become the cheapest in seven years relative to FTSE 100 Index shares.

BAT climbed 4 percent, heading for its biggest jump since 2011, and peer Imperial Brands Plc gained 2.7 percent. That helped companies in the FTSE All-Share Consumer Goods Index, which traded at about 16.5 estimated earnings, near the lowest since October 2009 relative to the FTSE 100. The gauge of consumer equities had slipped for six straight days, the longest streak since February.

The moves helped send the FTSE 100 up as much as 0.3 percent for a fourth day of gains. The index is heading for an advance of 0.3 percent this week, after alternating between weekly gains and losses for the past month amid speculation about the form that Brexit will take. A report showed on Friday that U.K. consumer confidence rose.

Among other stocks moving on corporate news, Informa Plc advanced 2.3 percent after Berenberg recommended buying shares of the provider of business information. Intercontinental Hotels Group Plc slipped 1 percent after reporting a slowing rate of revenue-per-room growth.

The FTSE 250 Index of mid-cap shares and the FTSE Small Cap excluding investment trusts index were little changed. The regional Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.1 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Cecile Vannucci in London at cvannucci1@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Cecile Vannucci at cvannucci1@bloomberg.net.