London open: Stocks edge higher on ahead of Christmas, Smith & Nephew jumps

UK stocks posted their seventh straight day of gains on Wednesday, though upside was modest with markets winding down on a shortened Christmas Eve session.

London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 6,608 early on, having finished Tuesday at a two-week closing high of 6,598.18.

With very few catalysts expected to drive sentiment either way and trading volumes traditionally low ahead of the festive break, it is predicted to be a quiet day for indices across the globe.

Markets on the London Stock Exchange are scheduled to close early on Wednesday at 12:30, while indices across Europe will also be operating a curtailed session.

Financial markets in the US, Europe and parts of Asia will be closed Thursday for Christmas Day. Japan and China, however, remain open.

With no major economic data due out this side of the Atlantic, trading volumes are expected to stay low with few major movements anticipated.

The only major datapoint of the day is the release of the US jobless claims figures for last week, though these are due out after UK markets close at 13:30. Claims are expected to have risen just 1,000 to 290,000 in the week ended 20 December.

Smith & Nephew jumps as Stryker rumours resurface

Shares in Smith & Nephew surged on the back of rumours that US surgical implants group Stryker Corp could return to the table to launch a takeover offer within weeks. According to Bloomberg, which cited “people with knowledge of the matter”, Stryker is looking to make a bid at a premium of around 30% to S&N’s current share price and is not planning a controversial tax-inversion deal.

Oil and gas stocks were also providing a lift, with BP, Tullow and Shell among the best performers.

Real estate group Intu Properties fell after buying the Puerto Venecia shopping centre and retail park in Zaragoza, Spain, for €451m. Intu’s chief executive David Fischel said Puerto Venecia is “another great addition for the group” and “substantially accelerates our activities in Spain”.

Glencore was subdued despite revealing that it would go ahead with its share buyback in 2015, with up to £120m repurchased by 24 March at the latest. The company had been mulling over whether to continue with the buyback earlier in the month, having launched the £600m programme in August.

Market Movers
techMARK 2,961.05 +0.24%
FTSE 100 6,607.61 +0.14%
FTSE 250 16,092.92 -0.01%

FTSE 100 - Risers
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,182.00p +8.54%
BP (BP.) 421.30p +1.31%
ITV (ITV) 216.90p +1.31%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,935.00p +1.20%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 424.20p +1.07%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,686.00p +1.02%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,268.00p +0.96%
British Land Co (BLND) 782.00p +0.84%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,284.50p +0.82%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 462.60p +0.78%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Indivior (INDV) 144.50p -3.67%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,175.00p -1.53%
Pearson (PSON) 1,170.00p -1.35%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,058.00p -1.03%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,021.00p -0.93%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,001.00p -0.89%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,335.00p -0.82%
St James's Place (STJ) 808.50p -0.80%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,371.50p -0.80%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 706.50p -0.77%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 297.00p +3.81%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 143.90p +2.35%
Redrow (RDW) 293.00p +2.27%
Poundland Group (PLND) 326.80p +2.12%
Unite Group (UTG) 471.70p +1.70%
Electrocomponents (ECM) 217.50p +1.68%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 182.90p +1.67%
Game Digital (GMD) 350.20p +1.51%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 563.50p +1.44%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 318.70p +1.43%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Ocado Group (OCDO) 387.30p -3.51%
Polymetal International (POLY) 541.50p -2.52%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 58.70p -2.41%
Allied Minds (ALM) 337.00p -2.40%
Card Factory (CARD) 285.40p -1.82%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 583.50p -1.77%
RPC Group (RPC) 501.00p -1.67%
Evraz (EVR) 146.90p -1.54%
Serco Group (SRP) 160.60p -1.53%
RPS Group (RPS) 215.10p -1.51%