05/07/07 FTSE 100 6673.1, +33.3 Dow 13577.3 FTSE 250 11834.2, +86.6 Nasdaq 2644.95 FTSE All Share 3445.33, +18.04 S&P 500 1524.85 Nikkei 18221.5, +52.8 Hang Seng 22307.9, +89.3 Oil (Brent) $74.02 Gold $655.80 Base Rate 5.5% 10 Yr Gilt 5.505% £/$ 2.015 Euro/Gbp 0.6756 Market report  US markets were closed yesterday for Independence Day. The Nikkei added 52.8 points to close at 18,221.5 this morning. Sony Corp led gains on speculation the yen's slump against the euro and dollar boosted profits in the three months ended June. Retailers climbed after companies including Aeon Mail Co reported higher income in the first quarter. Indexes pared advances in the afternoon after the leading index, the broadest indicator of the outlook for the economy, missed economists forecasts. The Hang Seng is currently 89.3 points higher at 22,307.9. Shares of mainland companies including China Construction bank Corp led gains on speculation they will prove the biggest draw for Chinese investors as overseas investment restrictions are relaxed. Yanzhou Coal Mining advanced after Goldman Sachs & Co raised its price estimate for the shares. Centron Telecom International Holdings Ltd surged on its debut. A multi-billion takeover deal in the hotel sector helped London's blue-chips make firm gains yesterday. The £10bn sale of the Hilton hotels chain gave fellow hotels and leisure stocks a leg-up and saw the FTSE 100 Index finish the day 33.3 points higher at 6673.1. News of the bid from US private equity firm Blackstone also provided some direction ahead of the Bank of England's interest rate decision today. Expectations of a further quarter point rise to 5.75% saw the pound hit fresh 26-year highs against the dollar during the day, reaching 2.02 US dollars at one stage. In the Footsie, the focus was on the Hilton deal, which catapulted InterContinental Hotels - often seen as a takeover target itself - up the share risers board. The group closed up 49p at 1307p, with the consolidation prospects in the sector also lifting Premier Inn owner Whitbread, up 52p at 1805p, while Millennium & Copthorne jumped 26p to 678p in the FTSE 250 Index. The deal also buoyed pub groups, which sustained strong advances seen yesterday after Greene King announced it was considering spinning off its property assets to unlock value for shareholders. Punch Taverns was ahead 38p at 1300p and Enterprise Inns up 13.5p at 700.5p. Property firms also benefited to see British Land climb 38p to 1370p, Land Securities gain 36p to 1768p and shopping centre owner Liberty International rise 15p to 1150p. However, UK flag carrier British Airways made a last minute surge to secure its place at the top of the risers' board after releasing its June traffic figures in the afternoon. Shares in BA rose 22p to 440.5p as investors looked past the headline 2.5% drop in passengers to concentrate on the news that premium traffic was up by 1.4%. The growth in premium business is seen as a major plus for BA, with most of its profits coming from big spending first and business class passengers. Broadcaster ITV slipped 0.5p to 114.5p after it said advertising revenues fell by 9% at its flagship ITV1 channel in the first half of the year, even as the market showed signs of stabilising elsewhere. Mining group Lonmin also saw losses as it went ex-dividend, the stock fell 2%, or 74p to 4236p. Anglo American spin-off Mondi suffered the worst among blue chips, with its second day on the stock market going as badly as the first. The stock was off 12p at 478p after opening yesterday at 500p. Economic report    UK Bank of England Rate Announcement (Jul) 1200 BST Analyst expect interest rates to rise to 5.75% in July. In the June meeting it seems at least one MPC member held back because the market was not expecting a rise at that meeting. The wording in the minutes bought forward that market expectation and so these members no longer face constraint. US ADP Employment Report (Jun) 1315 BST/0815 EDT Analysts look for ADP private employment to rise by 125,000. Our non-farm payroll estimate of 140,000 assumes a further 15,000 increase in government jobs. US Initial Jobless Claims (week 30 Jun) 1330 BST/0830 EDT Analysts look for initial jobless claims of 315,000. US ISM Non-manufacturing (Jun) 1500 BST/1000 EDT ISM non-manufacturing rose to 59.7 last month, the strongest since April 2006. New orders improved to 57.4 from 55.5, and employment rose to 54.9 from 51.9. Analysts expect headline business activity to fall back to 57.5 this month. The details published in this e-mail are intended for information only and should not be construed as advice under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Aventus Capital Management will not accept responsibility for any actions taken (or not taken) on the basis of information published in this e-mail. Aventus Capital Management is a trading style, "Aventus" is a trade mark and the Aventus logo is a registered trade mark of Rickerbys Solicitors.  Rickerbys is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.  Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.