Pub chain JD Wetherspoon rose 5.6% after it reported stronger sales growth in its smoke-free outlets ahead of next year’s ban on smoking in public places.

Decliners

Smith & Nephew fell 1.2% after the medical devices maker said it was in preliminary merger discussions with Biomet, its US rival, in a deal aimed at creating an orthopaedic specialist worth up to $20 billion and capable of competing against the US sector leaders, Zimmer and Stryker

Wolseley fell 1% as the largest plumbing supplier in the world announced a six further small acquisitions for a total of 61 million pounds. Wolsely is highly acquisitive and has spent 331 million pounds on 16 deals in Europe and North America since the start of the current financial year in August.

ICI fell 1.4% after the speciality chemicals maker cautioned it continued to experience higher raw material prices, in spite of falling oil prices.

Miners retreated after a strong showing during the previous session. Antofagasta fell 1.6% while Xstrata was 0.9% weaker.

Economic news

The European Central Bank kept its main interest rate at 3.25% on Thursday as forecast, and signalled to markets it intended to raise rates again in December.


7:30AM Asian stocks end mixed, HK advances while Tokyo dips.
Asian markets closed mixed on Thursday. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.2% to finish at 16350.02 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. A retreat overnight on US market on lackluster economic data. The U.S. is a huge market for Japanese exports, and any downturn there is seen as having a big impact on Japan economy. Asahi Glass fell 3.2% after the glass maker Wednesday revised down its profit outlook for 2006.

Hong Kong stocks rallied to hit another fresh record high led by large-cap stocks HSBC Holdings and China Mobile. HSBC led the advance and rose 1%, while China Mobile jumped 3.7%, record closing highs for both stocks.

Elsewhere in the region, the Kospi in South Korea rose 0.5% and Taiwan Weighted Price Index rose 0.8%. Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.6%.The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks Class A and B shares, finished down 0.2% at 1851.31.

Australia S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.1% to 5409.40, easing back from Wednesday record close of 5416.40. BHP Billiton gained 0.1% and fellow miner Rio Tinto slipped 0.4%. Philippine stocks gained for the 10th straight session to a fresh nine-year high, buoyed by investor confidence in the economic outlook of the country. The benchmark 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index rose 0.5% to 2721.78.


6:30AM Europe falls on banks, miners, downbeat US economic data.
European markets were lower by mid morning on Thursday. The FTSE 100 in London shed 0.25 to 6,138.9, Frankfurt Xetra Dax fell 0.23% to 6,276.35, and the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.7% to 5,334.53.

Advancers

Bucking the weaker banking sector, Credit Suisse, the investment bank, gained 3.1% after the third-quarter net profits came in well ahead of expectations as strong trading income helped it on the way to a year of expected record earnings.

Altana, the German drugs and chemicals manufacturer, gained 3.2% after reporting a 19% rise in nine-month core earnings, beating expectations, thanks to a strong performance at its chemicals division.

Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods group, announced a 4.8% rise in third-quarter core sales at the top end of expectations. This outshone a disappointing fall in margins as the company spent heavily on branding and advertising to aid its recovery. The Amsterdam-listed shares gained 3.2%.

Decliners