Ahead of the Christmas break comes an early present for Smith & Nephew shareholders.
The medical equipment group has seen its shares - down on Tuesday as part of a general fall in the healthcare sector - jump to the top of a quiet FTSE 100.
They have climbed 93p or 8.5% to £11.82 valuing the business at £10.5bn, following renewed reports that it could be a takeover target, with US group Stryker the name in the frame again. According to a Bloomberg report Stryker planned to offer a premium - perhaps as much as 30% - to S&N’s share price.
Stryker said in May it was not working on a takeover bid, ruling itself out for six months. That period has obviously passed, hence the new speculation. Bloomberg said an offer could come within weeks.
Overall the FTSE 100 is currently up 8.46 points at 6606.64 in what is likely to be a quiet half day’s trading, helped by the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing above 18,000 for the first time.
Despite a 1% dip in the Brent crude price to around $61 a barrel, oil company shares are in demand.
BP is 5.7p better at 421.55p after reports it was close to a deal with partner Rosneft which would see it expand its commitments in Russia. This is despite Western sanctions on the country and the current economic problems facing President Putin.
Tullow Oil is up 3.7p to 423.4p and Royal Dutch Shell A shares are 15p better at 2208.5p.
Pearson has fallen 17p to £11.69 after Tuesday’s late news it had sold its stake in struggling ebook business Nook Media to Barnes & Noble for nearly $28m. Pearson took a 5% stake in 2012 for $89.5m.
