Vodafone shares lifted Britain's top stock index on Thursday after the company confirmed it was in talks with Verizon Communications for possible disposal of its 45 percent stake in a joint venture, Reuters reported. Vodafone was 8.9 percent higher after hitting a 12-year high on the news. A surge in Vodafone, which added most points to the FTSE 100 index, helped telecoms shares top the sectoral gainers' list. Analysts said the sector's outlook remained positive and there could be more M&A activities, albeit at a smaller scale. At 0744 GMT, the blue-chip FTSE 100 index was 37.69 points, or 0.6 percent, higher at 6,467.75 points after falling 0.2 percent in the previous session and 0.8 percent on Tuesday. Among other sharp movers, WPP rose 3.5 percent, the second-biggest gainer on the FTSE 100, after the world's biggest advertising agency improved its outlook for the full-year and reported a 5 percent rise in like-for-like revenues in July, its strongest monthly rate this year.
