Traditional Santa rally pushes FTSE to a record

THE FTSE 100 hit an all-time high as traders toasted the pre-Christmas Santa rally.

The blue-chip index hit 7603.98, up 78.76 points, or 1.05pc, as it leapfrogged past the previous record of 7598.99 set in June.

The surge was led by hospitals provider Mediclinic, which finished up 7.3pc, or 43p, at 630p.

The boost means that as the year draws to a close the FTSE is nearly 500 points higher than its level at the end of 2016 – largely driven by a lift given to big firms by the weak pound. The FTSE 250 also closed higher, up 0.36pc, or 72.44 points, at 20,422.73. Sonic the Hedgehog game maker

Sumo Digital raced ahead on its first day of trading.

The firm, which floated on AIM, jumped as much as 19pc yesterday, finishing up 14pc, or to 114p from its placing price of 100p.

The Sheffield-based company is behind hits such as Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing and Little Big Planet 3.

Refit firm Styles & Wood soared after the founder of Clipper Logistics launched a £42.5m swoop on the business.

It refits properties such as schools and banks, and has been snapped up by Steve Parkin’s venture capitalist vehicle Central Square Holdings.

The deal is a 24pc premium to Styles & Wood’s undisturbed share price before talks began.

Central Square Holdings said the takeover will allow it to merge the company with its existing interest in Southerns, a rival property services business, to create a larger entity.

Parkin, 56, is executive chairman of Clipper Logistics, a company he set up 1992. He made £30m from the company when it floated in 2014 and still owns around 30pc.

News of the buyout sent shares up 20.7pc, or 77.5p, to 452.5p.

Pharmaceutical giant GSK nudged up after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ruled it no longer had to include a warning label on two asthma drugs.

GSK had previously said on labels of its Advair and Breo drugs that an ingredient potentially increased the risk of asthmarelated death.

But the FDA yesterday abolished the need for the label after an earlier trial showed no increased risk, sending the shares up 0.8pc, or 10p, to 1320p.

A contract win with Transport for London failed to lift the Christmas spirits of Capita investors.

The outsourcer fell 3.2pc, or 13p, to 392.9p despite the £80m contract to provide and manage TfL’s internal internet network across its 1,000-plus sites.

Capita had been hit by the tightening of budgets in the public sector due to uncertainty in the market. Earlier this month it warned that a number of the bids it has in the pipeline are unlikely to be included in its profits in 2018 due to changes in accounting rules. Also down was investment firm

Vela Technologies, which plunged 17.7pc, or 0.22p, to 1.05p as investors took profits.

Vela invests in early stage and pre-IPO tech companies with ‘disruptive’ business models.

Popular investments in its portfolio include the blockchain company BTL and Portr, which is a start-up that checks in luggage for flights.

Ebanking and international payments group FairFX jumped 5.4pc, or 4p, to 77.5p after securing a licence to issue Mastercard branded cards.

The cards will be available across Europe, but other regions are set to follow.

Delighted Ian Strafford-Taylor, chief executive of FairFX, said: ‘Gaining Mastercard membership is a major step in our stated aim of reducing FairFX’s reliance on third parties and providing choice for the business.’