The prospect of a higher bid for ICI was called into question yesterday, in the wake of Akzo Nobel’s latest quarterly update.

Tuesday’s second-quarter numbers from the Dutch chemicals group were well received, but analysts yesterday used the update to flag up concerns over a higher ICI bid.

Akzo’s 600p a share indicative offer was rejected. The Dutch group has until August 9 to return with a higher offer for its UK rival. Some shareholders have indicated that they will accept 700p a share, although analysts reckon that 650p would suffice.

Analysts at ING told clients yesterday that, while a deal to buy ICI could be value-creating, there could be an adverse reaction from shareholders and short-term risk to the share price if the offer is raised significantly.

The broker said it believed that Akzo Nobel would consider a higher bid, but Citigroup cautioned that buying ICI “would limit mid-term value creation”.

JPMorgan said it believes Akzo will “remain disciplined” when making acquisitions. Neil Tyler, an analyst, believes opportunities elsewhere will prevent Akzo from significantly increasing its offer for ICI. Shares in the UK group ended down 4p at 602p.

The FTSE 100 edged into positive territory during the day but, despite a positive start on Wall Street, closed down 44.4 points at 6,454.3 points. A string of well-received earnings announcements provided early support. But a fresh bout of profit-taking weighed on the index, amid continuing concerns over the health of the US housing market. Concern over currency pressures and rising costs weighed on Rio Tinto, down 136p at £35.90 and Antofagasta, 26p lower at 723p. British Energy was the fastest large-cap faller, down 26½p at 482½p.

The defensive qualities of BT proved an attraction ahead of its first-quarter numbers today. The telecoms group put on 5¾p to 328¼p. British American Tobacco, another defensive stock, rose 22p to £16.43.

GlaxoSmithKline put in the strongest large-cap gain, adding 29p to £12.75, as a second-quarter update reiterated its expectation of 8 per cent to 10 per cent earnings per share growth in 2007. AstraZeneca, which reports second-quarter numbers today, was up 5p at £26.76 in anticipation.

Northern Rock added 15p to 817p with first-half results, kicking off the bank’s reporting season.

Barclays announced that major shareholders had subscribed to 154 million of 230 million shares being made available as part of a “clawback” programme. The shares will be issued at 740p each if the proposed merger with ABN Amro is completed. China Development Bank and Singapore’s Tema-sek will pick up the remaining shares. Barclays’s shares fell 23½p to 715p, leaving them well short of the 800p level analysts reckon they would need to reach in order to match a rival offer from a Royal Bank of Scotland-led consortium. Rabo Securities, the Dutch broker, told clients that Barclays’s offer was still not an alternative to the RBS group, which is offering a greater proportion of cash. New York: Wall Street ended with solid gains at the end of a session that saw strong earnings reports but also renewed jitters about the housing slump. The Dow Jones industrial closed up 68.20 points at 13,785.10.

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