stocking ... sets us up for a potential spike in copper prices. We maintain our belief that copper prices could spike to US$8,000 a ton in the next 12 months,» analysts at Credit Suisse said. Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto also rose, with gold futures at a new 25-year high. The London Stock Exchange, however, dropped 6.8 percent after the Nasdaq Stock Market walked away from a 2.4 billion pound (¤3.5 billion; US$4.2 billion) offer. The Nasdaq said it was withdrawing the bid but left itself wiggle room to return under certain circumstances. On the mergers-and-acquisitions front, advancers included mortgage bank Alliance & Leicester which rose 2.3 percent after it rejected an informal offer of GBP5.8 billion ($10.1 billion) from France's Credit Agricole, according to a published report. Royal Bank of Scotland also rose 2.3 percent after reports from two different newspapers citing market talk that U.S. institutions could be interested in buying Britain's second-largest bank. Pharmacy chain Boots increased 1.6 percent as fourth-quarter same-store sales at its main Boots TheChemist division rose 2.2 percent, or up 3.3 percent overall. --SP 22 46 Local Time 19 46 GMT
