Banks lead the charge as FTSE fizzes higher Meanwhile, investors reacted positively to reports that ITV may bid up to £90m for Scandinavian content producer Nice Entertainment. Ian Whittaker, analyst at Liberum Capital, said: "As long as ITV does not get involved in an expensive bidding war and shows discipline, a deal should be positive." A deal would expand ITV's content revenues and fit with its "strategy of acquiring selected content houses in specific genres [here, more reality entertainment]," he added. ITV rose 3.3 to 152.8p. With an appetite for risk in the market, it was defensive stocks that were the laggards. Traditional safe-haven utilities stocks SSE and United Utilities were off the pace, down 2p to £15.77 and up 2 to 704½p respectively. Doing the sums on Andy Murray's historic Wimbledon victory, analyst Douglas Jack at Numis concluded the success - combined with glorious weather - made for "an excellent occasion for the pub sector, but not such a good one for the bookmakers." In particular, it noted Paddy Power would have to "pay back £2m of losing tennis bets, which it promised to do if Andy Murray won." The dual-listed bookie fell 0.73 to €66.27. Doing much worse was Betfair, however, after Softbank subsidiary Charlton Group sold 11m shares - about 10.6pc of the group's stock. Deutsche Bank ran the bookbuilding. Betfair fell 39½ to 840p, picking up the wooden spoon in the mid-caps. The wider FTSE 250 put on 206.8 - 1.45pc - to end the day at 14,473.22. Among the biggest climbers was asset manager Ashmore - up 19.1 to 343p - as traders closed out short positions ahead of the group's trading update on Thursday. Ashmore has fallen heavily from highs of 433p less than two months ago on worries over emerging markets, but RBC Capital Markets analyst Peter Lenardos said he believed the sell-off was "overdone" and that Thursday's management statement should "not be as bad as feared." Mr Lenardos expects Ashmore's net inflows for the quarter to be flat, with a tough June offset by stronger performance in April and May. However, he said there was the possibility the firm could report another "blockbuster" quarter, driven by governmental and sovereign wealth funds mandates, which are difficult to predict. "With limited other disclosure being released on Thursday, the shares could react positively to a strong flow number," he said. We also believe the shares are heavily shorted, and a strong flow number could result in a short squeeze. Recruiters were also in demand ahead of trading updates as they benefited from growing economic optimism. Hays, which reports on Thursday, continued its recent rise, putting on 1.8 to 93.75p. Sector peer Michael Page rose 11.3 to 400.1p. Elsewhere, Babcock, which also updates the market on Thursday, was in demand, rising 37p to £11.70. Hikma Pharmaceuticals was among the biggest risers as it raised its full-year revenue growth forecast to 17pc, up from previous guidance of 13pc. The drugmaker said it had seen "excellent" sales of generic antibiotic doxycycline. Analysts said that Hikma's rivals were struggling to manufacture the drug, while Hikma had good access to the raw materials needed in its manufacture. Hikma rose 56p to £10.50. A strong update from Bovis Homes continued last week's cheer for housebuilders, sending the stock up 55 to 830p and near the top of the leaderboard. Peers Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Developments advanced 3½ to 106.3 and 12.2 to 342.9p respectively. At the other end of the board, Kier Group investors were left underwhelmed by the news it was trading in line with expectations. The group fell 18p to £12.50. In the small-caps, educational IT and resources group RM was a big climber, up 4.375 to 69p, after reporting strong half-year profits in its first set of results under a new chief executive and chairman. The company said it expected to see a positive bias toward the second half of the year, but warned that the outlooked remained tough. Analysts at Numis said they expected a decision this year on a return of cash to shareholders and believed this could be "material" in proportion to the group's market cap. Floorcoverings distribution group Headlam fell after warning it was unlikely to meet market expectations of a £28m full-year profit. The group said that its markets in Britain and Europe had shown signs of contraction in the first half of the year and forecast that earnings for the period would be about 10pc lower than last year. The group fell 21.13 to 341p.