Slight fall for FTSE

Shares in medical device maker Smith & Nephew offered some cheer today as the London market headed to the Christmas break with a whimper.

S&N lifted almost 4% following a news report it was a bid target for the team behind this week’s acquisition of US rival Biomet.

But it was not enough to stop the FTSE 100 Index falling 15.7 points to 6182.9 by lunchtime with little corporate news to excite investors.

S&N shares, which rose earlier in the week after Biomet went to a private equity consortium, climbed 19.75p to 539.5p as the Business magazine said the group was also interested in the hip and knee replacement specialist.

Meanwhile, Vodafone shares topped the fallers’ board – down more than 2% - after a report suggested it was mulling a multi-billion pound bid for India’s fourth largest mobile phone operator.

Investors took flight amid fears Newbury-based Vodafone could be drawn into an expensive bidding war as it looked to broaden its reach beyond the cramped European market. The stock dropped 3p to 143p.

Oil and gas producers dragged the market lower as the price of crude oil slipped, despite data from the US which showed a larger-than-expected decline in crude stocks. BP was off 2.5p at 567p, while Royal Dutch Shell lost 9p to 1786p.

Outside the top flight, there was concern for oil and gas firm Burren Energy following the death of Turkmenistan president Saparmurat Niyazov.

Analysts suggested Burren had invested heavily in the former Soviet republic and Niyazov’s death could lead to uncertainty in the region.

Despite others speculating the incident would not have an affect on the business and its work in the area, shares still lost 32.5p – almost 4% – to stand at 852.5p.

Sentiment in the retail sector was further hit by a warning from Poundstretcher owner Instore that losses would be worse than expected. Shares fell 1p to 17p, although the company said recent sales had been better.

And there was no let up for HMV as the stock continued to fall after yesterday’s profits warning. Shares fell a further quarter of a penny to 146.25p.

WH Smith also found itself in negative territory, this time down 3.25p at 381.25p, while Woolworths suffered a dip by half a penny to 33p. Marks & Spencer seemed to avoid the sell-off, rising 7.5p to 709.5p.