UK tech firms defy share dip

ARM and BSkyB see share prices jump, while FTSE 100 falls by 6.33 points

Despite the FTSE 100 falling by 6.33 points, shares in British technology companies have risen, or maintained their value.

UK chip manufacturer ARM Holdings has seen its shares jump by nearly nine per cent - up 35.9p at 439.4p - mostly fuelled by news that Microsoft is working on a new Windows operating system for tablets which would use ARM's processor designs.

BSkyB has also climbed by 14.5p to reach 743p, as traders are banking on a takeover bid from Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation being cleared by the UK government, now business secretary Vince Cable is out of the picture.

Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt will now make the BSkyB decision and it is believed that he will be favourable to Murdoch. Bankers at Investec believe there is now a 90 per cent chance the deal will go ahead, although Murdoch will have to offer more than the 700p a share currently on the table.

Meanwhile, BT and Autonomy both saw their shares rise modestly; by 0.54 and 0.72 per cent respectively. Outsourcing firm and government supplier Capita Group posted a slight drop in share price, however, falling from 706.5p to 704.50p, marking a 0.28 per cent fall.