** U.S. shares of Thomson Reuters Corp TRI.O spiking 9% to a record high on Monday, with analysts pointing to potential inclusion of the Canadian co in the Nasdaq 100 .NDX index

** Driving Mon's speculation, China's market regulator conditionally approved U.S. chip design software provider Synopsys' SNPS.O acquisition of engineering design firm Ansys ANSS.O, clearing the last significant regulatory hurdle for the $35 bln buyout

** A completed merger would open a spot in the Nasdaq 100 that could be filled by TRI, analysts said. Cos joining major indices often see spikes in demand for their shares from index funds

** Nasdaq 100 tracks performance of the 100 most largest Nasdaq-listed non-financial cos. Inclusion is based on a range of criteria

** TRI's Canada-listed shares on track for biggest daily pct gain since Feb 2021

** TRI in Feb moved its U.S.-listed stock Nasdaq from NYSE

** With Mon's surge TRI now up 36% YTD

** 17 analysts cover TRI, on avg rating it 'hold'. Its median PT is $186.50, which is 14% below its current price of $217.73

** Before Mon's surge, TRI traded at 24 times expected earnings, vs its five-yr avg forward PE of 20, per LSEG

(Reporting by Noel Randewich)

((noel.randewich@thomsonreuters.com))