London midday: Smith & Nephew leads rally

31st Aug 2011 12:01

Shares have built on their earlier gains, though the rally is unlikely to be enough to prevent the biggest monthly fall since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008.Among today's big gainers is bid rumour-mongers' favourite Smith & Nephew. Latest talk has it that peer Stryker could be interested in moving for the replacement hip specialist with a possible offer of between 850p and 900p. Property giants British Land and Land Securities fall after a two-notch downgrade to "underweight" from "overweight" on both stocks by analysts at Morgan Stanley. The broker is worried that weak economic conditions will weigh on property valuations.In the FTSE 250, investors in Bwin.party digital entertainment are celebrating. Sales at the FTSE 250 online gaming firm formed by the merger of bwin Interactive Entertainment and PartyGaming edged lower in the six months to 30 June, but the firm has raised its estimates for synergies accrued from the merger. Eastern Europe-focused oil group JKX Oil & Gas falls after it posted a decline in half year profit as it completes its Russian redevelopment project.Books and stationery retailer WH Smith was firmer after it announced plans to buy-back another round of shares in 2012, following the £55m repurchased this year. Australia-focused miner Norseman Gold fell into the red after it swung to a pre-tax loss of A$27.2m in the year ended 30 June, compared with a profit of A$1.1m the year before, as full-year gold production came in below expectations.Self storage company Safestore jumped after revealing a 5.4% increase in third quarter revenue.Shares in Pure Wafer, a provider of "wafer reclaim" services to increase semi-conductor manufacturers' efficiencies, rose after it said growth in the semi-conductor market has been continuing. Cape, the support services provider to the energy sector, has seen a drop in pre-tax profits from £35.5m in 2010 to £34m in the first half of this year. The decreased profits were however on increased revenues of £335m and the company has lifted the interim dividend to 4.5p from 4p. Norcros, the home products group behind Tritons showers, is wanted after announcing it is to sell land to Morrisons, the supermarket chain, in a deal which could be worth £2.6m. The deal will see Morrisons pay £8.25m to Norcros but only after planning consent is granted. FTSE 100 - RisersVedanta Resources (VED) 1,391.00p +4.04%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 620.50p +4.02%Glencore International (GLEN) 414.45p +3.73%Smiths Group (SMIN) 981.00p +3.70%GKN (GKN) 203.00p +3.41%Wolseley (WOS) 1,575.00p +3.21%IMI (IMI) 876.00p +3.18%BT Group (BT.A) 168.70p +2.99%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 318.20p +2.84%Experian (EXPN) 698.00p +2.80%FTSE 100 - FallersBritish Land Co (BLND) 532.00p -2.21%Schroders (SDR) 1,459.00p -1.49%Hammerson (HMSO) 401.60p -1.16%Land Securities Group (LAND) 720.50p -1.03%Schroders (Non-Voting) (SDRC) 1,184.00p -1.00%Essar Energy (ESSR) 252.50p -0.94%British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,704.50p -0.72%Capital Shopping Centres Group (CSCG) 330.90p -0.48%Vodafone Group (VOD) 161.85p -0.40%National Grid (NG.) 611.50p -0.24%FTSE 250 - RisersBwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 125.00p +13.64%Rank Group (RNK) 139.70p +6.64%Morgan Crucible Co (MGCR) 272.10p +6.29%Lamprell (LAM) 315.50p +5.98%Fenner (FENR) 359.90p +5.79%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 137.30p +5.53%Bodycote (BOY) 289.80p +5.38%SVG Capital (SVI) 256.20p +5.35%Renishaw (RSW) 1,342.00p +5.34%Ocado Group (OCDO) 120.90p +5.13%FTSE 250 - FallersJKX Oil & Gas (JKX) 189.40p -3.61%Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 247.70p -2.90%Hansteen Holdings (HSTN) 79.50p -2.63%Henderson Group (HGG) 128.00p -2.36%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 44.94p -2.30%Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 186.00p -2.00%Great Portland Estates (GPOR) 349.40p -1.74%Centamin Egypt Ltd. (CEY) 104.10p -1.33%Derwent London (DLN) 1,531.00p -1.23%Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 163.80p -0.97%