Bug hope excites Bioquell

ENTER a hospital these days and you take your life into your own hands. Hospitals are not safe places any more. The MRSA superbug is sweeping through hospitals and research shows that it could soon be killing 10,000 people in Britain each year.

Some hospitals have banned visitors from sitting on patients' beds in an attempt to combat the killer bug. The National Heath Service is in a panic and desperately needs to find an antidote.

Bioquell jumped 21p to 149½p on hopes that its technology could be the ultimate bug buster. Its cause was helped by news that the UK Department of Health's Rapid Review Panel has identified Bioquell's RBDS decontamination system as having significant potential value in the fight against MRSA. The RRP placed its technology in the secondhighest category.

RBDS uses hydrogen peroxide vapour to batter bugs ranging from antibiotic-resistant bacteria to anthrax. Bioquell hopes that the RRP's positive recommendations will persuade hospitals around the world to buy its technology.

Continuing merger speculation lifted SkyePharma 3¾p to 70¼p. The drugs delivery company has disappointed shareholders all year but a predator is said to be lurking and is ready to put it out of its misery.

The group reported narrowing interim losses of £9.6m, down from £17m, in September but chief executive Michael Ashton warned that second-half profitability hinged on it sealing a deal for its pulmonary treatment and the timing of US approval for its cardiovascular pipeline of drugs.

Following an upbeat presentation to analysts, Aim-quoted Tissue Science Laboratories touched 195p before closing 10p better at 185p. TSL specialises in human tissue replacement and repair products.

The Footsie closed 32.5 points up at 4735.7. Heavyweight banks led the advance. HBOS gained 19½p to 752p and Royal Bank of Scotland 40p to 1648p with the help of upbeat comments from Deutsche Bank.

Wall Street raced 141 points ahead in the early stages in response to a higher-than-expected rise in US consumer spending in November and increased manufacturing activity. Dealers said the data shows that the US recovery remains on track and a 0.25% rise in US interest rates to 2.25% on December 14 now looks nailed on.

With Marks & Spencer (4¼p better at 332½p) obviously still struggling and having to hold another '20% off' promotion today, rival fashion group Next jumped 32p to 1636p. No sign of a pre-Christmas sale there.

Renewed speculative demand on revived takeover hopes left MFI Furniture 3¼p up at 119½p. The vultures will be circling if there is a poor trading update today.

A Deutsche Bank sell recommendation and the slashing of its target price to 800p from 880p left plumber Wolseley 14p lower at 887p. The broker says all of its key markets have peaked and are likely to decline in 2005p.

Nervous selling ahead of next Thursday's third-quarter figures dragged Premier Farnell down 8½p to 196p.

Aim-quoted Aerobox rose 2p to 16¼p after Saudi Arabian Airlines placed an initial order for 500 Aerobox AKE air cargo containers for delivery in early 2005.

Investment company HG Capital Trust leapt 33p to 427½p on hearing that it will realise £82m in cash from its investment in Raymarine, one of the world's largest suppliers of marine electronic products to the leisure boating market, when it floats on the London Stock Exchange on Monday. HG invested £33m and will keep a stake of about 27% after the float.

Stockbroker WH Ireland improved 5p more to 104p on bid hopes. Former director Mohammed Marafie placed his 20.43% stake in the company at 100p with institutional investors on Tuesday.

Healthcare group Inion became the first Finnish company to float on the main market. Placed at 130p the shares soared to 164½p for a premium of 34½p.

Recovery hopes lifted Vislink 2½p to 23½p. Goldman Sachs was a big buyer recently.

_____________________________

NUMIS analyst Paul Jones advises clients to sell support services group PHS (½p easier at 69p) ahead of Tuesday's interims. Rentokil Initial's cautious update has made him nervous and he fears that prospects at PHS may not be as good as widely expected. Margin pressure on washroom services - which account for some 81% of operating profits - has continued. His target price is slashed to 56p from 70p.