MARKET REPORT: Bid talk boosts Smith & Nephew
SMITH & Nephew was fighting fit yesterday on talk of a potential takeover bid for the artificial hip joint maker from US rival Stryker Corp.
The British group's shares were 48p healthier at 1138p as a report suggested Stryker was readying an approach when a period in which it was barred from bidding for S&N ends.
In late May, Stryker denied that it intended to make an offer for S&N in response to a request from the Takeover Panel, ruling itself out of bidding until November 28.
Smiths Group, which also makes medical equipment, advanced 9p to 1192p on the strength of the news about its rival.
The FTSE 100 Index closed 20.97 points adrift at 6729.79 despite the medical sector news and the announcement by telecoms group BT of a potential tie-up with mobile operators O2 or EE.
Rival Vodafone reversed 2¾p to 225p but the takeover talk lifted TalkTalk by 18p to 300½p. Market sentiment also took a hit as European Central Bank official Ewald Nowotny said the ECB was unlikely to launch any further economic stimulus before the first quarter of next year.
Mining companies were also on the slide after BHP Billiton - whose shares dropped 41p to 1621p - said coal miners globally were set to cut output by about 50 million tons to combat low prices
Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank put back its prediction for the first rise in British interest rates to August next year from its previous estimate of February.
The London Stock Exchange was 69p richer at 2172p as Citigroup upgraded it to a "buy" rating from "neutral" and lifted its price target to 2400p from 1750p.
Cruise operator Carnival floated 47p higher to 2664p on the launch of a marketing campaign.
Stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown was 53½p poorer at 958½p as Citigroup cut its recommendation to "sell" from "neutral".
Mining companies were also on the slide after BHP Billiton - whose shares dropped 41p to 1621p - said coal miners globally were set to cut output by about 50 million tons to combat low prices.
Analysts also blamed the sector's losses on last week's surprise cut in Chinese interest rates, saying one reduction might be inadequate.
Silver miner Fresnillo backtracked 17½p to 746p while Rio Tinto subsided 65½p to 2976½p and Anglo American was off 26p at 1354p.
FirstGroup stalled 11½p to 108¼p on speculation that the bus and train operator could lose out in bidding for the East Coast rail franchise.
It is facing competition for the deal from a consortium headed by Eurostar and France's Keolis.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 7.84 points to 17817.90 at the close.
