By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks rose Wednesday, with shares
of Ashtead Group PLC higher after the equipment-rental company
issued an upbeat outlook.
The FTSE 100 gained 0.3% to 6,847.20, on track for a fourth
session of gains.
Ashtead was the best price performer on the benchmark, rising
2.9% as the company said full-year results should come in ahead of
its previous expectations, following a strong first quarter.
First-quarter profit was 74.7 million pounds ($124.5 million), up
from GBP60.7 million a year ago.
Also higher were shares of Vodafone Group PLC , by 0.7%. The
shares ended up 1.1% on Tuesday, pushed up late in the session
after a Nikkei newspaper report that Japanese mobile-services
company SoftBank Corp. (9984.TO) may be considering a takeover bid
for Vodafone.
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