Drug maker AstraZeneca Plc (LON:AZN) was boosted, with shares up more than 2%, as it revealed positive test results allowing it to advance a lung disease treatment towards US FDA approval in the first half of 2018.
The Duaklir drug showed significant improvement in lung function for patients who have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the company said.
AstraZeneca shares gained 131p, 2.91% at 4,707p.
10:30am - Chariot Oil & Gas investors excited about upcoming exploration campaign
Chariot Oil & Gas PLC (LON:CHAR) was the stand-out small cap share, up as much as 16% on Thursday morning as investors got excited about an upcoming exploration campaign.
Offshore Morocco, Chariot’s partner ENI has now secured a drillship ahead of drilling next year. It will be a very large (768mln barrels of potential) exploration prospect, and therefore it is a potentially very significant value catalyst for the explorer.
At 10:10am, Chariot was up 1.46p or 12.98% trading at 12.71p.
Another junior oil stock, Empyrean Energy PLC (LON:EME) was also a trading stand-out – rising around 17% after announcing that results from a seismic programme offshore China has exceeded expectations.
The explorer, in a stock market statement, said the preliminary mapping of ‘raw seismic 3D data’ confirms the structural validity of Jade and Topaz prospects and identifies a third significant target named Pearl. Altogether the three targets are estimated to have 591mln barrels of potential.
Online streaming platform AudioBoom Group PLC (LON:BOOM) shot up around 14% after it reported a “strong financial and operational performance” and highlighted that revenues were up 32% over the second quarter of the current financial year and that third quarter.
9:20am - Capita shares dented as outsourcer redraws financial results
Shares in Capita PLC (LON:CPI) started as much as 6% lower in Thursday’s early deals, and after an hour’s trading was down 22.35p or 3.48% at 620.5p, after the outsourcing group restated its revenues and profits for 2016 following a move to IFRS 15 reporting that affects the value of contracts with customers.
The shift means revenue will more evenly spread over the life of contracts, which entails lower profits or losses recognised earlier, all of which means a big revision to 2016 results, with profits slashed by 30%, down from £481mln to £335mln.
London’s insurers were also among the gainers with Direct Line Insurance Group PLC (LON:DLG) notably up around 4.4% at 384.5p. This comes as the sector welcomed a bit of backtracking by the government on plans to change the discount rate for compensation claims.
The Ogden rate will now be in a range between zero and 1%, having been previously slashed from 2.5% to -0.75%.
Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital commented: “The impact of this rather odd decision was significant on insurers’ 2016 profits. Direct Line operating profits for last year fell 23% to £404m. If the rate had been left alone, profits would have been 11% higher. The company had to halve dividends as a result of the £175mln hit it took to full-year profits.”
Bovis Homes Group PLC (LON:BVS) was the latest housebuilder to report this week – following on from Redrow and Barratt – and its share price advanced 7.3% to 1,130p.
Financial results, showing a confident outlook and revenue growth despite a decline in total completions, were further supported by house price statistics from Halifax that indicated an apparently resilient market.
A 1.1% rise in prices in August took the average price to an eight-month high and marked the fastest month-to-month growth this year.
Proactive news headlines:
Stratex International PLC said it has “identified potential optimisation opportunities” at Crusader Resources Limited's Borborema project in Brazil “which are expected to yield material economic gains and lower upfront capital spend”. The AIM-quoted gold and exploration company said it expected to reduce capex at the project from the current estimate of US$120mln to around US$100mln.
Chariot Oil & Gas Limited (LON:CHAR) has told investors that it has secured a drilling rig for the upcoming RD-1 well, targeting the JP-1 exploration prospect which forms part of its operations in Morocco. Project operator ENI has contracted Saipem 12000, an ultra-deepwater drillship, for the programme and it is currently anticipated that the rig will arrive in the later part of the first quarter of 2018 with drilling due to start shortly thereafter.
ValiRx PLC (LON:VAL) is to accelerate the pre-clinical trials of its VAL101 cancer-fighting molecule after making a breakthrough with its development. The biotech has developed a technically and commercially improved second generation of the therapeutic, whilst managing to maintain its cancer-fighting properties.
Cambridge Sensor Innovation, one of the companies backed by Frontier IP Group PLC (LON:FIPP), has launched a new sensor that will enable the humble domestic oven to produce professional standard results in less time.
Chaarat Gold Holdings Limited has reported positive results from the drilling programme in the Tulkubash Zone of the Chaarat Gold Project in the Kyrgyz Republic, with the pit length increased and the drilling programme extended to 15,000 meters from 11,000 metres. The AIM-listed firm said additional mineralisation has been identified within the current Tulkubash pit, and the mineralisation there extends to connect with other drilled areas to increase pit length from approximately 1,100 to 2,200 metres.
Life and pensions consolidator Chesnara PLC (LON:CSN), which owns Countrywide Assured, said it is still working with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to bring a speedy termination to the watchdog's investigation into the company's treatment of long-standing customers. The statement came after the FCA said it had closed the probe into another fund - Police Mutual.
Shares in Avation PLC (LON:AVAP) were flying high early on Thursday morning after the aircraft leasing group posted another record-breaking full-year results. A higher lease yield helped to push up revenues by almost a third to US$94.2mln (2016: US$71.2mln) during the 12 months ended 30 June, while pre-tax profits jumped by 18% to US$21.4mln.
Oxo-biodegradable plastic technology company Symphony Environmental Technologies PLC (LON:SYM) has continued momentum in the second half of 2017 after showing strong growth in the first half. Profit before tax soared 400% to £95,000 on the back of a 14% increase in revenues to £3.69mln.
Centralnic Group PLC (LON:CNIC) has said it is on track to become a “major global player” in the internet domain names sector after enjoying a “most encouraging” first half. Total revenues across the business jumped 19% to £10.6mln (H1 2016: £8.9mln), while a slight improvement in margins saw gross profit surge by almost a third to £3mln (H1 2016: £2.3mln). CentralNic confirmed it has renegotiated and renewed its exclusive wholesaler contract with XYZ.COM, which owns the .xyz top-level domain.
Full-year results for trading and risk management software provider Brady PLC (LON:BRY) are expected to be in line with market expectations, with a continued rise in recurring revenues as the group moves away from the legacy licence model.
Highlands Natural Resources PLC said it has successfully finished drilling on the Wildhorse 5-64 15-16-1BHZ well, the second on the East Denver Niobrara Project in Colorado ahead of schedule, and has seen the positive "shows" of oil and gas. The AIM-listed company said it reached the total depth of 18,483 ft on the Wildhorse well on 4 September.
Ferrum Crescent PLC (LON:FCR) has confirmed high lead-zinc concentrations near the surface at its Toral prospect in Spain. Each of the six holes in the latest drill programme hit lead and zinc, confirming the visual inspections of the cores reported in July, while three were high grade intercepts.
Strategic Minerals PLC (LON:SML) has reported good tin grades from first drilling at the Redmoor prospect in Cornwall, but their nature has meant a shift in approach going forward. John Peters, managing director, said the assays from ten of the 14 holes drilled so far suggest a better (and easier) mining prospect may be the high-grade zones within the sheeted vein system rather than following lodes.
Akers Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKER) (LON:AKR) has appointed Pamela E. Hibler to lead the rapid health information technologies developer's North American commercial team as Vice President, Sales and Distribution. Since 2010, Hibler has been working for Cogentix Medical, a global medical device company that was formed through the 2015 merger of two public entities, Uroplasty and Vision Sciences.
OptiBiotix Health PLC (LON:OPTI) said it has been invited to present its research and commercial developments at the 18th edition of Expoquimia-World Chemical Summit in Barcelona, Spain, on 5 October 2017. The life sciences group, which is developing compounds to tackle obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, will present a presentation titled: 'New approaches: microbiome modulation as therapeutic intervention'.