Market News - London

LONDON (ShareCast) - US shares continued their rise after the G20 finance ministers meeting said that economic stimulus would continue until the recovery is assured.

The Dow has consolidated its gains above 10,000, with a 149-point jump to 10,172, the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQ: news) is up 30 at 2,143, while the broader S&P 500 has risen 16 to 1,086.

Cadbury (LSE: CBRY.L - news) has rejected a formal offer from US food group Kraft, which failed to sweeten the terms outlined in an indicative bid spurned by the UK chocolate giant in September.

Kraft is offering 300p cash plus 0.2589 of its shares for each Cadbury share, valuing the British company at around 710p a share - based on a Kraft share price of $26.38, down 40 cents on the day. There was talk that Kraft would be able to increase the cash element of the bid but it may be waiting to assess the initial response to the bid before considering any additional temptations for Cadbury shareholders.

Kraft was one of the few fallers on the Dow.

It's thought General Electric (NYSE: GE - news) and Comcast have agreed on a value for NBC Universal of about $30bn. GE owns 80% of NBC. The valuation would pave the way for a joint venture between Comcast and NBC, although 20%-shareholder Vivendi (VIV.NX - news) is yet to rubber stamp the deal.

RadioShack (NYSE: RSH - news) shares jumped after the electronics retailer said that it intends to sell Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL - news) 's iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS at stores in Texas and New York.

Shares in printer supplier Lexmark International dived after Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS - news) said that they were overvalued given the company's weak market position.

In contrast, Goldman Sachs has upgraded retailer Abercrombie & Fitch from neutral to buy.

Meanwhile, defence giant Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC - news) has offloaded its consulting unit to private equity firms, General Atlantic and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, for $1.65bn.

On the results front, burger chain McDonald's has served up early gains after it said global sales rose a better than expected 3.3% in October. Same store sales fell 0.1% in the US, but rose 6.4% in Europe.

S&P 500 - Risers Radioshack Corp. (RSH (R04.SI - news) ) $20.11 +13.36% Sprint Nxtel Corp. (S) $3.14 +10.18% Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF (ANF.NX - news) ) $37.58 +7.34% Micron Technology (NYSE: MU - news) (MU) $7.58 +7.06% Jds Uniphase Corp (NASDAQ: JDSU - news) . (JDSU) $6.84 +5.88% Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (HOT) $32.72 +5.25% Office Depot Inc. (ODP) $6.32 +5.16% Massey Energy Co (NYSE: MEE - news) (MEE) $34.39 +4.98% Peabody Energy Corp (NYSE: BTU - news) . (BTU) $44.30 +4.95% Adobe Systems Inc (NASDAQ: ADBE - news) . (ADBE) $36.31 +4.79%

S&P 500 - Fallers Lexmark International Inc. (LXK) $25.11 -5.88% DeVry Inc. (DV) $52.76 -4.73% Windstream Corp. (WIN (LSE: WNN.L - news) ) $9.87 -3.99% Apollo Group Inc. (APOL) $53.85 -3.82% Tesoro Corp. (TSO) $13.60 -2.65% Verisign Inc. (VRSN) $22.66 -2.50% Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) $26.38 -1.49% King Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: KG - news) (KG) $11.05 -1.40% Biogen Idec Inc (NASDAQ: BIIB - news) . (BIIB) $45.12 -1.40% Hudson City Bancorp Inc. (HCBK) $13.06 -1.17%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers Caterpillar Inc (NYSE: CAT - news) . (CAT) $59.76 +3.75% General Electric Co. (GE) $15.89 +3.65% American Express Inc. (AXP) $38.52 +3.52% Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA - news) . (AA) $13.27 +2.95% Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $53.43 +2.95% Boeing Co (NYSE: BA - news) . (BA) $50.91 +2.48% Du Pont E I De Nemours and Co. (DD) $34.12 +2.22% Merck (MERK.JK - news) & Co. Inc. (MRK) $33.28 +2.12% Intel Corp (NASDAQ: INTC - news) . (INTC) $19.31 +1.98% Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $17.30 +1.98%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) $26.38 -1.49% Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO - news) . (CSCO) $23.73 -0.39%

Echostar Communications Corp. (DISH) $20.37 +6.37% Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $36.31 +4.79% Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $62.42 +4.50% Joy Global Inc (NASDAQ: JOYG - news) . (JOYG) $56.49 +4.42% Millicom International Cellular S.A. (MICC) $69.51 +4.32% Nii Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: NIHD - news) . (NIHD) $28.93 +3.99% Steel Dynamics Inc. (STLD) $14.64 +3.98% Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) $27.92 +3.87% Applied Materials Inc (NASDAQ: AMAT - news) . (AMAT) $12.84 +3.55% Network Appliance Inc (NASDAQ: NTAP - news) . (NTAP) $29.34 +3.38%

Nasdaq 100 (NASDAQ: news) - Fallers Liberty Media Corp (NASDAQ: LCAPA - news) . (LINTA) $11.54 -4.86% Apollo Group Inc. (APOL) $53.85 -3.82% Verisign Inc. (VRSN) $22.66 -2.50% Warner Chilcott Plc (WCRX) $22.50 -2.00% Garmin Ltd (NASDAQ: GRMN - news) . (GRMN) $27.98 -1.58% Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB) $45.12 -1.40% Hansen Natural Corp. (HANS) $34.04 -1.22% Genzyme Corp (NASDAQ: GENZ - news) . (GENZ) $52.06 -0.42% Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $23.73 -0.39% Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ: SBUX - news) . (SBUX) $21.04 -0.38%