Photo : Reuters

LVMH (LVMH.PA) rose 6.7 percent to top the CAC-40 .FCHI gainers list on the back of a jump in Swatch (UHR.VX) shares which rise on better-than-expected results, and market talk of a reorganisation of the French purveyor of luxury products.

On Thursday 13 August, LVMH bought stakes in the Cheval Blanc and Tour du Pin top wines from chairman and controlling shareholder Bernard Arnault.

"The wines alone do not explain the rise. There is a play on a possible reorganisation of the LVMH group," a trader says.

Some brokers say there could be a simplification of the group structure, controlled by Arnault via Dior (DIOR.PA), while others say there could be a transaction with Diageo (DGE.L) concerning the latter's 34 percent stake in Moet Henessy.

A spokesman for LVMH has no comment but refers to comments by Arnault in May that a sale of the stake was not on the cards while Diageo was not seeking to sell either.

Shares in Swatch, the world's largest watchmaker, are up more than 10 percent.