It was the turn yesterday of Carphone Warehouse to be the summer speculative stock of the day.
The company's shares jumped 7.75p to 263.75p on talk of a potential takeover worth 330p a share, with a private equity bidder or perhaps even BSkyB being the names in the frame. Former Asda boss and Tory MP Archie Norman was also mentioned in some quarters since he is believed to have lost out in the bidding for John Caudwell's Phones4U chain, which was sold for £1.4bn last week.
Analysts said they could not rule out a bid but pointed out that any move would need the blessing of Carphone founder Charles Dunstone, who owns around 34% of the company.
Otherwise trading was fairly thin, even for the middle of August. After an early dip, the FTSE 100 index ended the day 27.0 points higher at 5897.9, helped by an opening rise in the Dow Jones industrial average after the release of US producer price figures. These came in below Wall Street forecasts, easing fears of an imminent rate rise by the US Federal Reserve. On this side of the Atlantic inflation dipped unexpectedly by 0.1% in July but it still remains above the Bank of England's 2% target.
Pharmaceuticals group Shire moved higher after it settled a longstanding patent dispute with rival Barr concerning its Adderall treatment for hyperactivity. In exchange for Barr's admitting patent infringement, the US company will be allowed to launch a generic version of the drug in April 2009. Under the terms of the deal, Barr is buying the original formulation of Adderall for $63m (£33m), while Shire will pay up to $165m over eight years for licences for five of Barr's health products for women.
Analysts were generally positive about the move. "The 2009 entry of generic Adderall will give Shire time to switch patients to its next-generation [attention-deficit disorder] product, NRP104," said JP Morgan.
Morgan Stanley said the move should get the go-ahead from US regulators. "The stock should trade above 950p fairly quickly," it added, "and in fair value terms we think it is worth £11.30 once cash payments, original Adderall and the new products are taken into account. The next significant catalyst is the US food and drug administration action date on NRP104 on October 6."
Seymour Pierce was more cautious. "Overall, the agreement is positive," said the broker. "But in our view, if [US regulators] overturn this agreement then fair value would be around 750p. So we would advocate taking profits if the share price appreciates too much above 950p to avoid [the deal's not going through]."
Shire shares ended 6.5p higher at 888p, having earlier touched 938p.
Elsewhere, the telecoms equipment group Spirent was 2p better at 46.5p after an upbeat trading statement from its US rival Agilent, tipped as a possible predator for the company. It also benefited from a positive note from Lehman Brothers, which set a 54p target.
Building services group Interserve recovered 16p to 297p after Monday's falls following its admission that it had found accounting irregularities in one of its divisions.
Dana Petroleum edged up 1.5p to £12.78 after encouraging test results from two North Sea exploration wells.
IT group Maxima jumped 8p to 161.5p after its agreed deal with Microsoft to sell and support the US group's Business Dynamic products. Seymour Pierce advised clients to buy the shares, saying the move was strategic "and will likely bear fruit over the long term. We anticipate results in line with expectations when the company reports its full-year numbers on Thursday."
Mining firm Central China Goldfields added 0.5p to 15.5p on positive news from its Nimu copper prospect in Tibet. But Oxus Gold fell 5.5p to 35p on renewed talk that the Uzbekistan government had revoked the company's licence to develop the Khandiza deposit in the south of the country. Traders said the Oxus venture had only ever had an exploration licence, not a development one and still hoped to be involved with the actual mining. The company is talking to the Uzbek government to clarify the situation.
Last week Oxus maintained its Amantaytau Goldfields venture in the country would be unaffected by government actions against a rival partnership involving America's Newmont Mining.
Alternative energy specialist Energetix made its Aim debut and rose from a placing price of 40p to 46p. It says it develops products that can make boilers more environmentally friendly and could reduce energy bills.
Abbot Group, which supplies drilling equipment and engineering services to the energy industry, edged up 0.75p to 271p after Goldman Sachs analysts raised their earnings forecast following a meeting with the management. "We believe the half-year results on September 7, where the company will update its guidance, could be a good catalyst for the stock," they said.
Chinese pump maker Jarlway added 1.25p to 15p ahead of today's annual meeting, while diagnostic group Proteome Science added 2.5p to 41.5p on talk of a big buyer in the market.
Higher firm higher
Equipment hire group Ashtead has been under pressure since announcing a month ago it planned to pay $1bn (£520m) for US rival NationsRent. The company's shares have fallen nearly 20% since news of the deal, despite analysts welcoming it. Unlike in Britain, most American construction companies own their own equipment, but that is now starting to change, with the US rental business forecast to grow substantially. It is this market that Ashtead hopes to tap into with the NationsRent acquisition. Yesterday the shares were moving back in the right direction, up 8p to 120p, making Ashtead the biggest riser in the FTSE 250. Traders put the recent falls down to a couple of aggressive sellers in the market, and said these disposals seemed to be over.