Sage edges higher despite takeover doubts Traders also turned their attention to other takeover possibilities, with one noting renewed bid talk around J Sainsbury, which rose 5.4 to 337½p. Both Sage and Sainsbury followed the general markets higher. Despite treading water during the morning, investors later pushed the FTSE 100 up 37.84 to end the day at 5,819.92. The rise came ahead of the conclusion of the US Federal Reserve meeting. Traders seeking further stimulus measures had their wishes granted after the market close, with the central bank announcing another round of bond purchases. The FTSE 250 gained 35.48 points to 11,846.53. BAE Systems was a drag on the blue-chip index with a drop of 26½ to 337.1p as investors weighed up the company's potential merger with EADS. There had been market rumours around BAE for a number of days before the group confirmed the details of the possible tie-up on Wednesday. Investors were also looking ahead to tomorrow's "put up or shut up" deadline for buy-out group Carlyle, which has approached defence equipment-maker Chemring about a takeover. Shares in the mid-cap company slipped 2.4 to 327½p, with an extension to the bid deadline widely expected. Back on the FTSE 100, retailer Next dropped 259p to £33.20 as the group cautioned that sales in August and early September had been "disappointing." That had a knock-on effect on Marks & Spencer, which crept down 5 to 369.7p, and Debenhams, which slid 1¾ to 98¼p. Those traders hoping to see a bounce in Burberry shares were left waiting as the upmarket goods group once again finished the day in the red, down 22p at £10.50. The shares have now lost almost 24pc since the company issued a profit warning on Tuesday. However, advertising group WPP was among the blue-chip risers, up 10½ at 848p on the back of an upgrade to "hold" from "underperform" by Jefferies. The highly anticipated launch of the iPhone 5 may have helped FTSE 100 Apple supplier ARM Holdings move 7 higher to 562p, but mid-cap Imagination Technologies, which also makes parts for the US giant, shed 44 to 566p. The shares fell despite the company reporting strong growth in shipments since May, with Numis cutting its recommendation on the group to "hold" from "buy," due to the recent strong stock performance. Elsewhere on the FTSE 250, homebuilder Barratt Developments staged a partial recovery and rose 9.2 to 168p after sliding 6.4pc on Wednesday following the release of full-year results, which disappointed some investors because the group said it would not pay a dividend until next year. Premier Farnell was also on the rise after the electronics supplier revealed it had returned to growth last month. "We envisage the cyclical pick-up coming through in due course and note that year-on-year revenue growth returned at a group level in August at the nominal rate of 0.4pc," Shore Capital said. Investors pushed the shares up 18.2p - or10.6pc - to 190p. Broker Citigroup was analysing the impact of political developments in Egypt on gold miner Centamin and decided to put the group back on an equal footing with other yellow metal diggers. "With the elections completed and enough time having passed to assess the attitude of the new authorities, we are now re-instating [Centamin] to the same valuation parameters as most of our other UK-listed gold stocks," analyst Jon Bergtheil wrote. He boosted his recommendation on the group to "buy" from "neutral" and the shares put on 1.3 to 83½p. Another climber was Essar Energy, which gained 6.6 to 114.7p on the resolution of Indian tax issues at its subsidiary Essar Oil. The company will repay sales tax owed to the Gujarat state government, but does not have to pay about $327m (£202m) of interest which had also been demanded. Among the small-caps, traders waiting for confirmation of a deal for JJB Sports were left disappointed. The shares climbed as high as 0.8p, but settled 0.105 higher at 0.45p after the company said it was holding talks with a number of interested parties which have made offers to buy it. The sportswear retailer again warned, however, that "it is unlikely that any value will be attributable to the ordinary shares." Lonrho ticked up 0.17 to 10p following news that entrepreneur David Lenigas had stepped down as the company's chairman.