London midday: Stocks rise for seventh straight session ahead of Christmas break

The FTSE 100 was up just 0.1% at 6,603 by midday, trading within a narrow range as investors refrained from taking on too much risk ahead of the four-day festive break.

Trading is set to finish at 12:30 in London. Stock exchanges in Paris and Madrid are also open for a half-day, while markets in Frankfurt and Milan are closed.

“With much of Europe out of action already, volumes are thinner than the spread on Scrooge’s Christmas table,” said analyst Chris Beauchamp from IG.

“However the Santa Rally did its work and markets look a lot healthier than they did just a week ago, even if the FTSE 100 is still down on the year and lagging behind the DAX and the Dow Jones.”

The only major piece of economic data due out on Wednesday 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.

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

Smith & Nephew a big mover on a quiet news day

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”.

Among the small-cap stocks, the share price of India-focused Hardy Oil & Gas plunged by 24% after the firm “consented to the relinquishment” of an exploration licence. Hardy said that $22m of its intangible assets attributable to licence D3 “will be subject to write down in the current financial year”.

Market Movers
techMARK 2,965.75 +0.40%
FTSE 100 6,603.17 +0.08%
FTSE 250 16,106.05 +0.07%

FTSE 100 - Risers
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,178.00p +8.17%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 427.00p +1.74%
ITV (ITV) 216.70p +1.21%
British Land Co (BLND) 783.50p +1.03%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,931.00p +0.99%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,559.00p +0.94%
Tesco (TSCO) 186.25p +0.89%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 292.90p +0.86%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 959.10p +0.85%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,185.00p +0.77%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Indivior (INDV) 145.10p -3.27%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,156.00p -1.98%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,365.50p -1.23%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,495.00p -0.84%
Pearson (PSON) 1,177.00p -0.76%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,336.00p -0.74%
Experian (EXPN) 1,095.00p -0.73%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,874.50p -0.69%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,248.00p -0.64%
Old Mutual (OML) 190.40p -0.63%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Alent (ALNT) 340.00p +3.31%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 144.70p +2.92%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 196.30p +2.51%
Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 510.00p +2.49%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 183.90p +2.22%
Saga (SAGA) 154.00p +1.99%
Countrywide (CWD) 428.00p +1.90%
Just Retirement Group (JRG) 152.00p +1.88%
Poundland Group (PLND) 325.70p +1.78%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 840.00p +1.76%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 57.00p -5.24%
Redefine International (RDI) 53.00p -2.75%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 578.00p -2.69%
Card Factory (CARD) 283.60p -2.44%
Jimmy Choo (CHOO) 171.00p -2.29%
Synergy Health (SYR) 2,030.00p -2.22%
Polymetal International (POLY) 544.50p -1.98%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 5,600.00p -1.75%
Stock Spirits Group (STCK) 227.30p -1.60%
Serco Group (SRP) 160.50p -1.59%