SSL chased as threat of US predator looms large

EXCITED punters filled their boots with

The medical arm was put up for sale after a strategic review decided the group should focus on consumer healthcare. The venture capital arm of ABN Amro owns a variety of consumer businesses and is an obvious buyer. Last June it backed a £140m management buyout of Smith & Nephew's hygiene and toiletries business.

SSL has soared 81% since April's 12-year low on US bid rumours. Consumer products group Kimberly-Clark has always been the name in the frame. But dealers say any deal is dependent on SSL washing its hands of its surgical gloves division.

Wall Street's early 132-point decline following internet giant Yahoo!'s disappointing second-quarter figures and jobless data confirming weakness in the labour market, left London looking rather tired.

Despite the surprise 0.25% cut in UK interest rates to 3.5%, the Footsie lost a 13-point gain to finish 25.9 down at 4028.8. Sterling eased to $1.6303, with the euro at 69.7p and $1.1371.

News of the cheapest borrowing since 1955 helped Currys-to-PC World electrical retailer Dixons rise 5p more to 136 3/4p on turnover of 36.5m. Sales of big ticket items are expected to rise in the months leading up to Christmas.

Rival Comet group Kesa Electricals, recently demerged from Kingfisher, advanced 10 1/4p to 205 1/4p.

The prospect of cheaper mortgages helped selected housebuilders erect small gains. Barratt Developments improved 3p to 461p, Ben Bailey 7p to 222p and Redrow 5 1/2p to 299p.

Drugs giant AstraZeneca soared to 2580p before closing 90p to the good at 2545p. A combination of short covering and genuine investment support greeted overnight news that Crestor, its cholesterol-lowering drug, had been unanimously approved by the US Food & Drug Administration's advisory committee at doses of 5mg-40mg. Analysts believe sales in the US could reach £2.2bn by 2008.

Insurance giant Old Mutual lost 2 3/4p to 90 1/4p amid revived gossip that it is about to bid for Britannic Group,7 1/2p dearer at 275 1/2p.

A JP Morgan downgrade to ' underweight' sparked selling of mobile phone giant Vodafone, 2 1/2p easier at 117 1/2p. The US broker expects average revenue per user to slow significantly this year with profit margins and market share contracting due to increased competition. Fair value is 123p.

Satellite TV group BSkyB dipped 6p to 676 1/2p after hearing it will be sharing a four-year deal to cover England soccer matches and the FA Cup.

Reflecting chairman Michael Stevens' optimism about the future, the restructured Aim-listed housebuilder and commercial developer Artisan (UK) firmed 5/8p to 33/8p.

Financial public relations group Hansard jumped 2 1/4p to 12 1/2p after confirming bid talks with Sky Venture Capital Inc.

Densitron rose 2 3/4p to 26 1/4p, after Swedish investor Peter Gyllenhammar bought a further 300,000 shares to increase his holding in the electronic equipment group to 15.5%.

Construction group Low & Bonar rose 3 1/2p to 74 1/2p following in-line interim results. ABN Amro is bullish and said the group is a much better managed and more stable business, which is firmly on the recovery path.

Aortech International advanced 2p to 19p after signing a license and supply agreement for its proprietary silicone technology with a large US supplier of medical devices.

Baltimore Technologies plummeted 5 1/2p to 36 1/2p after the board rejected bid proposals that it did not think maximised overall return for shareholders. Dicom firmed 5p to 525p after announcing upgrades to its flagship EDC software.

AFTER digesting its bullish trading statement, buyers chased Domino's Pizza 19 1/2p higher to a peak of 137 1/2p. The leading player in the UK delivered pizza market said first-half profits will be well ahead of analysts' expectations. Broker Numis, ahead of interims on July 28, upgraded its first-half pretax profit forecast to £2.9m from £2.25m and for the full year to £6.2m from £5.5m.