MARKET REPORT

ORTHOPAEDICS giant Smith & Nephew fell 45½p to 1469½p amid speculation it had held talks to buy US medical equipment maker NuVasive in a deal worth potentially more than $3billion.

Tourism group TUI firmed 44¾p to 958¼p ahead of a quarterly trading update as dealers noted buy support from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, while Sports Direct climbed 2¼p to 272½p after it reportedly withdrew its offer to buy cake chain owner Patisserie Holdings.

RM, which supplies technology to the education sector, was marked up 4p to 245p after broker Peel Hunt told clients to buy with a 270p price target.

Data intelligence firm GB Group added ½p to 423p as it conditionally agreed to buy American ID verification and fraud detection services group IDology in a deal worth $300million.

Ultimate Products, which develops consumer goods brands, gained 7½p to 65½p as it grew half-year revenue by 36 per cent to £65.8million. It now expects annual pre-tax earnings ahead of the market’s current forecasts.