Share mover headlines - courtesy of share market operators themselves on Tuesday (October 8)...

The London Stock Exchange - down over six per cent...

And the Hong Kong bourse - up over two per cent...

On news that the latter has pulled the plug on its 39 billion dollar bid for the former.

Its boss Charles Li indicated his team had been unable to engage with LSE management.

The London bourse didn't comment.

Analysts had viewed the chance of success as slim.

The LSE would have had to drop its 27 billion dollar plan to buy data and analytics firm Refinitiv as a precondition of the deal.

As for the Hong Kong exchange: local political turmoil - and the government's influence as the main shareholder - were also seen as obstacles.

And - with its shares down 8 per cent since it made its original offer last month - putting in a higher offer could, say the analysts, have put too much strain on its finances.

For the LSE, it's the latest failed mega-merger after multiple attempts at a tie-up with Deutsche Boerse over the last two decades.

Its shares have risen more than 2,000 percent since it listed in 2001 ... reflecting its attractiveness as a target.