Electronics group Laird (LON:LRD) sparked interest yesterday amid rumours it could be on the radar of US rival Amphenol.
The stock lit up 31.9p, or 9.7%, to 360.9p on talk that Amphenol, which makes electronic and fibre optic connectors, was eyeing up the wireless component maker.
Laird makes insulation technology that protects mobile phones and other telecoms equipment from electromagnetic interference and heat. It also supplies other industries such as car-makers and the medical sector.
Amphenol is thought to have been attracted by Laird’s relatively cheap shares compared to industry rivals, although the interest is at an early stage and may not come to anything, according to a weekend press report.
Liberum Capital said it assumed Amphenol would be mainly interested in Laird’s automotive business.
The broker said Laird’s telecoms activities were facing a potentially difficult first quarter due to order cuts at iPhone maker Apple, which is said to be experiencing lower demand for its iPhone 6S..
Elsewhere, the FTSE 100 Index was 40.6 points adrift at 5871 as oil prices continued their downward trend.
But Anglo American (LON:AAL) hardened 1.25p to 230.45p as investors warmed to talk that the miner was set to begin the sale of its Brazilian niobium and phosphate business.
Taylor Wimpey (LON:TW.) followed positive housebuilding industry trends by posting impressive figures and was the latest in a long line of UK home builders to see improving profit margins. Its shares rose 1.2p to 194.9p.
But Alastair McCaig at spread-betting firm IG said: “With the possibility of a UK departure from the EU and the change in tax rules to buy to let investors, there are a few headwinds Taylor Wimpey will have to face this year.”
Investors also built stakes in construction group Carillion (LON:CLLN) by 3.6p to 296p on vague market chatter that it could become a takeover target.
Drug group Shire (LON:SHP) was on its sick bed, down 352p, or 8.2%, at 3925p after it finally announced a US$32bn merger with US blood disorder specialist Baxalta.
ShoeZone (LON:SHOE) backtracked 17.5p to 169p as investors got nervy ahead of full-year results from the footwear retailer on Wednesday.
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct International (LON:SPD) ran out of puff by 30.3p, or 7%, to 403p as fall-out from last week’s profit warning continued to affect the share price.
Investors switched off interest in NetPlayTV (LON:NPT), 0.5p off at 6.88p, as it withdrew from talks with betting firm Sportech over buying its football pools business.
It comes as it emerged that Sportech (LON:SPO) had received a "number of proposals" for the pools business and invited parties to submit final proposals by mid-January 2016. Sportech’s stock lifted 0.25p to 60p.
Gulf Keystone Petroleum (LON:GKP) leaked 0.5p to 12.5p as the oil company revealed that the operator of its 20% owned Akri-Bijeel asset in Kurdistan was giving it up.
Wishbone Gold (LON:WSBN) sparkled 0.11p or 96% to 0.22p as the explorer said it was in talks to buy a "complementary business" which would count as a substantial deal under AIM rules.
Satellite Solutions Worldwide (LON:SAT) gained 0.48p, or 11.45%, to 4.62p as the specialist in rural and last-mile satellite broadband signed a contract with BT to become a supplier for a Government scheme to offer subsidised satellite broadband to homes and firms with poor internet links.
A bullish note from house broker finnCap highlighting a switch to become a pure play on commercial and utility scale energy storage boosted shares in RedT Energy (LON:RED) by 2.25p to 9.75p.
Rockhopper Exploration (LON:RKH) spurted 3.5p to 27.75p as results from a well in the Falklands confirmed a significant discovery for the Isobel/Elaine project.
The new 14/20-2 well was a ‘re-drill’ of the prior Isobel Deep well which had to be abandoned prematurely due to operational issues, despite encountering oil.
Falkland Oil & Gas (LON:FOGL) was also heading north by 0.8p to 8.1p. It is merging with Rockhopper but already owns 40% of the licence where the discovery was made, which will rise to 64% after the merger.
Shares in cancer treatment developer Scancell (LON:SCLP) were a penny healthier at 22.5p as a diagnostic able to detect the early immune effects of the drug candidate SCIB1 was to be incorporated into a phase II clinical trial.
Investor Reabold Resources (LON:RBD), which has a stake in a Mongolian tin miner, crumbled 0.12p or 10% to to 1.12p after a placing last week to raise £200,000 at 0.5p per share.
Plethora Solutions (LON:PLE) was down 0.25p to 388p as a deadline for posting of a takeover document from Regent Pacific was put back to the end of January.