FTSE 100 movers: Smith & Nephew leads top-tier index higher on M&A reports

M&A speculation continued to boost the share price of Smith & Nephew on Thursday, as another company was reported to be interested in the medical devices firm. According to Bloomberg which cited people familiar with the matter, US peer Medtronic is in the early stages of preparing to make a bid for S&N but no offer is imminent. Financials were in demand this afternoon with Old Mutual, St James's Place, Admiral, Aberdeen Asset Management and Aviva among the best performers.Barclays, however, bucked the trend and was trading lower on reports that banks have underpaid compensation for mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI) policies by about £1bn. Nevertheless, Lloyds Banking Group edged higher on plans to sell a portfolio of UK commercial real estate loans to Promontoria Holding for £352m as part of its continued "non-core run-off portfolio asset reduction programme".Housebuilder Persimmon was a heavy faller as the shares went ex-dividend.FTSE 100 - RisersMeggitt (MGGT) 512.50p +3.72%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,099.00p +3.29%Old Mutual (OML) 202.60p +1.71%St James's Place (STJ) 798.50p +1.53%BG Group (BG.) 1,240.50p +1.43%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,492.00p +1.36%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 445.20p +1.25%Aviva (AV.) 532.50p +1.24%Ashtead Group (AHT) 911.00p +1.22%United Utilities Group (UU.) 878.00p +1.15%FTSE 100 - FallersPersimmon (PSN) 1,261.00p -5.33%Royal Mail (RMG) 501.00p -2.62%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,500.00p -2.22%Rexam (REX) 532.50p -1.93%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 190.20p -1.86%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,230.00p -1.68%TUI Travel (TT.) 403.00p -1.66%Weir Group (WEIR) 2,586.00p -1.64%ITV (ITV) 178.70p -1.16%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,656.00p -0.97%BC