PROPOSALS in the Gambling Bill to curtail a sharp rise in roulette machines in bookmakers and internet casinos weighed on William Hill and Hilton Group, which have invested heavily in fixed odds betting machines.

In yesterday’s statement by Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary, the Government made explicit its unease about the popularity of these new forms of gaming. She said new powers to increase protections for children and vulnerable people were needed.

William Hill fell 14½p at 502p despite the purchase of 5,000 shares at 500.83p by Tom Singer, finance director. Hilton Group, the owner of Ladbrokes, was off 5½p at 266p.

The wider market showed the best gains for three weeks after the overnight release of upbeat results from IBM and Texas Instruments, and bullish noises from Reuters Group, 27½p dearer at 350½p, and Reckitt Benckiser, 75p ahead at £14.78.

Although a retreat in oil and commodity prices hindered the natural resources sector, the FTSE 100 finished 28.6 points higher at 4,655.2.

BAE Systems had the best rise, up 6½p to 243p as Deutsche Bank raised its price target from 250p to 300p on the expectation that the agreement of the second tranche of the Eurofighter contract is imminent. Ben Fidler, analyst, is reassured at the prospect of reduced contractual risks, which could raise scope for upgrades to profit forecasts.

Man Group advanced 18p at £12.91, despite scotching persistent rumours of a takeover approach from Merrill Lynch by making its first share repurchase since the start of the month. The hedge fund manager disclosed that on Monday it had bought back 50,000 shares at £12.73, something it would be precluded from doing if it was in receipt of a bid.

Antofagasta shed 23p at £10.42 after Merrill Lynch moved from neutral to sell on valuation grounds. The US broker believes the copper market will move into surplus next year, resulting in lower prices which, it says, warrants caution on leveraged pure copper plays such as the Chilean miner.

Whitbread rose 10p at 842½p as Citigroup moderated its sell recommendation to hold ahead of next Thursday’s first-half results from the Marriott hotel to Beefeater restaurants operator, which will be accompanied by the results of its strategy review.

The US broker thinks there is a good chance of £450 million of disposals, which, worth 154p a share, should trigger the payment of a special dividend next year.

• NEW YORK: Shares on Wall Street swung lower after an early rally, which faded as oil prices bounced off their lows and climbed back above $53 a barrel. At the close the Dow Jones industrial average was down 58.70 points at 9,897.62.

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