FTSE 100 index down 9 points
No news once again good news for Canadian Overseas Petroleum
Albert Technologies dives after gloomy interims
FTSE 100 closed down 9.35 points at 7,301 on a mixed day of trading as the pound lost ground against the US dollar.
Elsewhere, FTSE 250 went the other way, to add over 49 points to stand at 19,566.
Sterling lost 0.31% against the US dollar, but added 0.51% against the Euro. On Wall Street, US benchmarks were also heading south.
The biggest gainer on Footsie was Convatec Group (LON:CTEC), which advanced 1.5% to 271p, while BT Group (LON:BTA) also made gains, adding 1.47% to 286.95p.
On the losing front, Mediclinic International (LON:MDC) shed 5.14% to 645.50p as fears around the state of the private healthcare sector dragged the firm lower.
US broker Jefferies lowered its earnings forecasts for the South African hospitals group.
3.30pm - London stocks mixed
Approaching the close, London’s leading stocks were mixed, as they had been throughout the day.
The FTSE 100 was down 9 at 7,301, having got its chin back above 7,300 after falling as low as 7,272 at one point.
“The FTSE 100 has just pushed the 7300 mark – a level which a significant support area over the summer. If the mark can’t be held, the London benchmark could head south again,” suggested David Madden at spread betting outfit CMC Markets.
Top riser today was Canadian Overseas Petroleum Limited (LON:COPL), up 54% in London and 25% in Toronto.
The stock was a big riser on Thursday on zero news flow and it was rising again today, also on no news.
2.45pm: German election largely met with indifference in UK stock market
The FTSE 100 continued to bumble along below Friday’s close, in common with most European markets, after the German election.
“Angela Merkel remains, as expected, Germany’s Chancellor in the coming four years that are so critical for the EU, euro, the Brexit process and geopolitical stability,” said Robert Bergqvist, chief economist at Nordic corporate bank SEB.
“The result means that Merkel must now govern the country from a weaker position and in a new political landscape as the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) lost support and the number of parties in the Bundestag increased from four to six,” he noted.
“The possibility that the ECB will initiate a policy normalisation process increases as a political risk in the eurozone is further diminished, political steps towards an increased euro area integration and fiscal coordination occur, and a somewhat more expansionary German fiscal policy is expected. We forecast that later in the year the ECB will decide to reduce its monthly bond purchases in 2018,” Bergqvist said.
Meanwhile, back in Blighty, the FTSE 100 index was down 20 points at 7,291.
Investors continued to bail out of The People’s Operator PLC (LON:TPOP), the virtual mobile network operator that will soon be on the cadge for further funding.
The Rosenfeld family reduced its stake from above 5% to 2.57%, prompting market makers to slice around one-sixth off the company’s value.
Marketing platform operator Albert Technologies Ltd (LON:ALB) also lost around a sixth of its market capitalisation after its interims disappointed the market.
The company said it is seriously considering its All Aspect sUBSidiary, which continues to make losses.
1.45pm: Financial stocks a drag as BoE gets antsy about the rise in consumer debt
Leading shares remain lower on balance, with financial stocks a drag as fears grow that the Bank of England might intervene to rein in debt.
“The Bank of England is sounding the alarm on rising consumer debt levels. Any restriction on lending, particularly unsecured lending like credit cards and car loans would be a direct hit to a big profit centre for banks and insurers,” said Jasper Lawler at spread betting firm LCG.
With the likes of insurers such as Prudential PLC (LON:PRU) and RSA Insurance Group (LON:RSA) and banks such as Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) down 1% or more, the FTSE 100 was down 20 at 7,290 at the end of the lunchtime session.
On Wall Street, the betting on the opening levels of the main benchmarks has moved further to the bearish side, with the Dow seen opening at around 22,315, down 35 points, and the S&P 500 expected to dip below 2,500 to 2,498, down four points.
Among the minnows, Zoo Digital Group PLC (LON:ZOO) lifted shareholders’ spirits with an upbeat statement at the annual general meeting.
"Sales of subtitling services delivered using ZOOsUBS, the company's proprietary cloud based subtitling solution, have more than doubled year-on-year during the financial year to date,” revealed Roger Jeynes, the company’s chairman.
The shares rose 11.6% on the update.
RedT Energy PLC (LON:RED) hardened a penny to 10.5p after the energy storage technology company said it had sold 14 units into sub-Saharan Africa.
12.35pm: FTSE 100 claws back most of the morning's losses
Blue-chips have all but wiped out the morning’s losses, despite expectations of a soft start on Wall Street.
The FTSE 100 was down 7 at 7,304, having traded in a fairly narrow range throughout the day ranging from 7,272 to 7,311.
In New York, spread betting quotes pointed to the Dow Jones opening at around 22,337, down 13 points, and the S&P 500 kicking off at 2,501, down a point or so.
Imagination Technologies Group PLC (LON:IMG) was the top riser in London after agreeing to a 182p a share offer from a buy-out company backed by China.
The shares were up 31% at 167.77p.
Among the stock market minnows, United Oil & Gas Plc (LON:UOG) surged 21% to 3.625p after Gunsynd PLC lifted its stake above 3%.
Gunsynd (LON:GUN), meanwhile, rose 15.4% to 0.04p.
11.00am: FTSE 250 outshines the FTSE 100
The FTSE 100 remained in the red but the mid-cap FTSE 250 was having a better time of it, circa 11 o’clock.
The blue-chips measure was down 24 at 7,287, with banks, pension firms and miners the biggest drag, but the FTSE 250 was up 23 at 19,541, with Tullow Oil plc (LON:TLW) leading the way, up 6.1%.
“Shares in Tullow Oil are up … this morning after a territorial dispute went in their favour, which will allow them to resume drilling in Ghana,” noted David Madden at CMC Markets.
“Tullow Oil has been one of hardest hit oil companies by the downturn in the energy market, and striking an empty well in Kenya this summer made matters worse. The legal verdict gave them a much needed boost,” he added.
“The oil company hopes to ramp up production by 60% next year. Tullow Oil shares gapped higher this morning and hit their highest level since May, and should the bullish sentiment continue, it could target 200p,” Madden predicted.
Sector peer and fellow FTSE 250 candidate Cairn Energy PLC (LON:CNE) rose 2.3% to 188.1p after Peel Hunt issued a ‘buy’ note, placing a value of 240p on the shares.
10.00: FTSE 100 holding steady at lower levels
Financial stocks led the Footsie lower in the first couple of hours of trading, as sterling made headway against the euro.
The European common currency lost a halfpenny or so in value against the pound in the wake of the German elections, which saw chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU/CSU party win most seats, albeit fewer than it had before the election.
“Angela Merkel has secured her fourth term in office as her Conservatives (CDU/CSU) remained the largest party with 33.0%, followed by the Social Democrats (SPD) with 20.5%; however, both parties registered significant losses in their vote shares to the benefit of the euro-sceptic AfD party, which will become the first right-wing nationalist party to enter the Bundestag since the 1950s, with a vote share of 12.6%,” noted Danske Bank.
“The election result means that we will probably enter a period of heightened political uncertainty in Germany over the coming weeks as coalition talks drag on; however, we expect that a solution on a government formation under Merkel as Chancellor will eventually be found before the end of the year. Hence, we believe that any adverse market reaction will be short-lived given the high degree of policy continuity under a CDU-led coalition and the AfD’s political isolation in parliament” Danske added.
Meanwhile, the fourth round of Brexit negotiations begins today.
The FTSE 100 was down 12 at 7,298, with the likes of Standard Life Aberdeen PLC, Standard Chartered PLC, Prudential PLC, Barclays PLC, Legal & General Group PLC and Old Mutual PLC from the financial sector prominent among the losers.
Mining stocks such as Fresnillo PLC, Anglo American PLC and Antofagasta PLC were also friendless.
Terrestrial broadcaster ITV plc (LON:ITV) was the best performing blue-chip, up 1.2% after Liberum Capital nudged up its price target to 330p from 320p.
“We upgrade our FY17E ITV TV NAR [non-advertising revenue] forecasts to -2.5% from -4.5% on the back of what looks like a relatively good September and our expectations of a flat Q4. This drives a 4% FY17E adj. EPS upgrade and increases our target price from 320p to 330p,” the broker said.
8.50am: FTSE 100 drops as sterling jumps
The Footsie fell back in early trading dampened by strong gains by the pound as the UK currency was boosted against the euro following the German election result at the weekend, and continued to advance versus the dollar.
After about 45 minutes of trading, the FTSE 100 index was off about 14 points at 7,296, having gained over 46 points on Friday.
On currency markets, sterling jumped 0.7% higher against the euro to €1.1372, and was up 0.3% versus the dollar at US$1.3537.
Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK said: “While it was no surprise that Angela Merkel was able to win a fourth term as German Chancellor the parliamentary arithmetic became slightly more complicated with a much better than expected performance from the populist AfD which managed to get well above the 5% threshold which will give them a significant and probably presence in the German Bundestag over the next four years.
“Their performance in becoming the third largest party in German politics along with a disappointing performance from Martin Schulz’s social democratic party SPD which recorded a post war low in terms of vote share means that the forming of a coalition government is likely to be much more problematic than it was in 2013.”
On the corporate front, Imagination Technologies PLC (LON:IMG) was the stand-out gainer, jumping 34% higher to 172.5p after the chipmaker late on Friday agreed to around a £550ml takeover offer from China-backed private equity firm Canyon Bridge which values the group at 182p per share.
Tullow Oil plc (LON:TLW) was also in demand, adding 5.3% at 187.7p, boosted by news it will be able to restart development drilling at the TEN project in West Africa following the outcome of a border dispute.
Proactive news headlines:
Hurricane Energy PLC (LON:HUR) has ticked off another important box as it continues to advance the Lancaster oil field towards ‘first oil’. The West of Shetland oil firm, in a statement, on Monday told investors that its field development plan for Lancaster’s early production system has now been approved.
Fuel cell developer Ceres Power Holdings PLC (LON:CWR) has hailed the success of a year-long trial of its technology in five family homes, which showed the SteelCell technology could not only reliably provide power and heat for home owners but save them around four hundred quid a year to boot.
Trinity Exploration and Production PLC (LON:TRIN) on Monday release half yearly results which were refreshingly concerned with the group’s ongoing performance rather than the now resolved debt limbo.
Plexus Holdings PLC (LON:POS) told investors it has landed a contract with Centrica to deliver the company’s POS-GRIP adjustable production wellhead for a gas production well in the UK Southern North Sea.
Esports group Gfinity Plc (LON:GFIN) is set to raise £7mln through an oversUBScribed placing to help support the next stage of its development and accelerate its international expansion.
Stem cell storage and insurance specialist WideCells Group PLC (LON:WDC) is to develop a software platform that both educates and keeps medical professionals and parents up to date on new treatments and developments.
Amphion Innovations Plc (LON:AMP) has sold 4.39mln shares in partner company Motif Bio Plc (LON:MTFB) to partially pay off a loan facility. Following the sale, Amphion’s stake in Motif Bio stands at 14.1%.
Computing services provider Nasstar Plc (LON:NASA) saw revenues jump by almost 50% in the first half as it starts to see the benefits of its recently-introduced strategic plan. Big Pic in January.
IXICO Plc (LON:IXI) has picked a new contract for its analysis technology from a US biopharma for a phase II trial of a new treatment for Huntington’s disease. The contract value is £1.2mln over a three year term.
Recruitment background checks specialist ClearStar Inc (LON:CLSU) said its suite of background and medical screening services is now available through the SAP App Center. Big Pic in September.
Bushveld Minerals Ltd (LON:BMN) is raising £8 mln in new money through the issuance of two tranches of convertible bonds. The first £4.5 mln is already in, with the timing of the second tranche at the company's discretion. The money will be used to support further work on Bushveld's vanadium and tin projects.
Amur Minerals Corporation (LON:AMC) is increasingly confident of joining up two separate nickel deposits on its Kun-Manie project of Russia. Drilling is ongoing, but already grades and thicknesses are looking good. The company expects a "material" increase to the resource once all the work is completed.
Oracle Power PLC (LON:ORCP) has set up a £1mln short-term loan to provide working capital while negotiations continue over funding for theThar thermal power station in Pakistan. Major shareholder Brandon Hill is lending the money for a year on an unsecured basis. The coupon is 12%.
Savannah Resources Plc (LON: SAV) has commenced its second round of reverse circulation drilling at the Mina do Barroso lithium project in Portugal. The aim is to define a JORC resource.
6.50am: Weak start predicted
The FTSE 100 is seen starting weaker today, reflecting falls by Asia markets overnight on worries over China's economy and a strengthening of the pound against the euro after the German election results.
Spread betting firm CMC Markets expects the FTSE 100 index to open about 8 points lower at around 7,302, having gained 46.74 points on Friday.
On currency markets, sterling was up around 0.5% versus the euro and around 0.3% against the US dollar after German Chancellor Angela Merkel secured a fourth term in elections at the weekend but faces a struggle building a coalition government after a surge in support for Far Right parties.
The pound also rallied after UK prime minister Theresa May's key speech in Florence on Friday failed to provide the clarity wanted for Brexit negotiations with the European Union which resume today.
With stocks, after a mixed performance by US markets on Friday, Asian bourses were lower today unsettled by the sovereign debt downgrade for China last week by credit rating agency Moody's.
Just my Imagination
China will also be a focus on the corporate front today after a company from the Communist country launched a takeover bid for UK chipmaker, Imagination Technologies PLC (LON:IMG) late on Friday.
The under-pressure UK firm has agreed to around a £550ml takeover offer from China-backed private equity firm Canyon Bridge which values the group at 182p per share, having put itself up for sale in June after losing a key contract from Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL).
There will, however, be little else to excite on the corporate front today, with a trading update from mid cap water utility Pennon Group plc (LON:PNN) the main diary interest
Investors always expect little in the way of excitement from utility companies anyway when it comes to results, so the interest will focus on performance targets and any comments regarding the outlook for the sector.
On Friday, Swiss bank UBS cut its price targets for both Pennon and peer United Utilities PLC (LON:UU.) – which issues its own trading update on Thursday.
Elsewhere, advertising firm M&C Saatchi Plc (LON:SAA) will report interim results on Monday, with the industry slightly in the doldrums at the moment
Global marketing communications groups have mostly reported disappointing second quarter results driven by exposure to consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies that are cutting spend, transparency issues in media buying and account losses.
However, in a preview, analysts at Numis Securities noted that M&C Saatchi has very limited CPG exposure, while its media buying operations are limited to associate Blue449 - which is performing strongly.
They said: “We expect the group's interims to reassure the market and view the shares as oversold at just 12x earnings with a well-covered >3% yield.”
Significant events expected on Monday September 25:
Trading update: Pennon Group plc (LON:PNN), Shaftesbury PLC (LON:SHB)
Finals: MJ Gleeson PLC (LON:GLE)
Interims: Amerisur Resources PLC (LON:AMER), Elecosoft PLC (LON:ELCO), M&C Saatchi Plc (LON:SAA), Nasstar Plc (LONLNASA), Osirium Technologies PLC (LON:OSI), SimiGon Limited (LON:SIM), Sprue Aegis PLC (LON:SPRP), Trinity Exploration & Production PLC (LON:TRIN)
Economic date: German IFO business climate index
Around the markets:
- Sterling: US$1.3533, up 0.3%
- Gold: US$1,293.30 an ounce, unchanged
- Brent crude: US$50.54 a barrel, down 0.2%
City Headlines:
- BT’s pension payout cut is ‘unlikely to set precedent – The Times
- Royal Bank of Scotland delays introduction of low-rate credit card – The Guardian
- I have copy of RBS scandal report, claims Noel Edmonds – The Times
- Tullow Oil to resume drilling in Ghana after resolving dispute – Financial Times
- Imagination Technologies’ Chinese suitor on hunt for fresh UK deals – Daily Telegraph
- Virgin Group and Stagecoach took £47mln dividend from west coast main line – The Times
- Three former Tesco Executives due to stand trial on Monday – Financial Times
- Debenhams takes a stake in top on-demand beauty services company blow LTD – Daily Express
- Interserve is under fire after Adrian Ringrose receives payoff – The Times
- Carnival to reveal extent of hurricane season’s impact on Caribbean and US cruise business – City AM
- Ryanair: after worst week ever, airline slashes fares for the winter to win back passengers – The Independent
- Apple and Google named the world’s most valuable brands – The Times
- Facebook climb-down highlights pressure to scrap share classes – Financial Times
- Uber rival Taxify hails progress with move to operate in London – Financial Times
- Disney and Altice spar over cost of carrying ESPN and ABC – Financial Times
- Suppliers stand up for beleaguered Toys R US after it secures £1.5bn loan and files for bankruptcy protection – Daily Mail
- Deliveroo valuation hits £1.5bn after food delivery firm raises new funds – The Guardian
- Formula One team slumps from £4mln profit to £6 million loss – Daily Mail
- EU ‘wants €50bn from UK ’ as part of Brexit negotiations, according to senior Diplomats – The Independent