BEST AND WORST PERFORMING SECTORS

The best performing sector in the market was diversified industrials, which gained 8.5 per cent almost entirely on the rise in BTR shares.

The second-best sector was alcoholic beverages, which gained 5.2 per cent. The largest company in the sector, Grand Metropolitan, rose 5.6 per cent as the company made a confident statement about the limited impact of McDonald's US discounting plan. GrandMet owns Burger King restaurants, whose success has forced McDonald's to compete more aggressively.

Other gainers in the sector were Allied Domecq, which rose 4.5 per cent after it announced the sale of a whisky distillery to Glenmorangie, and Guinness, which rose 5.4 per cent.

THE WORST performing sector was healthcare, which fell 2.8 per cent.

Smith & Nephew, one of the poorest performers in the FT-SE 100 last week, carries a heavy weighting in this sector. Copyright: IOS & Bloomberg