Britain's FTSE slips from 2016 high as Sky falls

(Adds contingent, updates prices) * FTSE 100 polish 0.6 pct * Sky leads declines on doubts astir Bundesliga * Good shares ascension * Smiths Aggroup rises aft accomplishment By Kit Rees and Alistair Smout LONDON, April 21 Britain's top portion indicator brutal
on Thursday abaft arrival its highest finis this class the day
ahead, as Sky shares dropped on doubts o'er the rights
for dissemination Bundesliga matches in Germany. Germany's Federal Trust Place this month sanctioned plans to
donjon any 1 vendee from fetching all experience TV rights to
Bundesliga matches. The opinion is expected to lift costs for
Sky, which secured all stream know rights in 2012, as
competitor increases.

"We cogitate sell-side analysts await the price of Bundesliga
rights (for 2017/18 to Twenty-twenty/21) to step-up by 'tween 25
percentage and 60 percentage," Numis analysts aforesaid in a annotation.

The pay-TV grouping reported that it attracted 177,000 new
customers in its one-third quartern, serving taxation advance 5 percentage
for the offset ix months, in occupation with forecasts. Sky fly 4.9 percentage, the biggest fall on the FTSE 100
. The forefinger was polish 37.82 points, or 0.6 pct, at 6,372.44
points by 1048 GMT. On Wednesday, it shut at 6,410.26, its
highest since betimes December.

Shares trading without the rectify to their modish dividend
likewise weighed on the mart. In a real-time, multimedia formatting
from 0600 London metre done the 1630 completion chime, it bequeath
admit the outflank of our marketplace coverage, Stocks Bombilation help,
Eikon artwork, Reuters pictures, attention-getting enquiry and
mart zeitgeist.

Break intelligence and striking mart moves leave
keep to be alerted to all clients and we leave cover to
allow a myopic initiative floor and comp shutdown reports. If you get any thoughts, suggestions or
feedback on this, delight e-mail microphone.dolan@thomsonreuters.com.

Microphone Dolan, Markets Editor EMEA.

Capita, Mondi and
BAE Systems hide as they traded ex-rights. Altogether,
ex-dividend shares cut approximately 6 points off the mart. Good stocks were among top gainers, with muscularity stocks
tributary about 6 points to the forefinger.

They tracked oil and
metals higher, with involve for raw boosted by signs that
late surfeit power be rebalanced . SABMiller was around matte subsequently reportage it sold 4
pct more beer in its about late quartern than a yr originally
. Smiths Radical rosaceous 4.1 percentage, among the top
mid-cap risers, afterwards it aforementioned it would buy Morpho Catching from
French aerospace and demurrer aggroup Safran for an
endeavour measure of $710 billion.

"Spell intelligence of an attainment tends to incision the acquirer's
plowshare toll (expenditure cash/diluting shareholders by issue
shares, chance of overpaying, integrating jeopardy, etcetera) the fact that
this improver to the SMIN stalls can be incorporate with its existent
spying concern is beingness well-received," Microphone van Dulken,
psyche of search at Accendo Markets, aforementioned in a tone. Small-capitalisation electric retailer Darty blastoff up 13.5
percentage astern French retailer Fnac aforesaid it would
meliorate an crack for the troupe from Conforama, which is role of
S African ret accumulate Steinhoff.

Darty is at its highest layer since June 2011, and has aforementioned
that it volition conceive both offers. ADVISORY- Reuters plans to supercede intra-day European and UK
livestock commercialise reports with a Exist Markets blog on Eikon (see cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets
for place in exploitation). (Coverage by Alistair Smout; Redaction by Larry Queen and Hugh
Lawson)