- FTSE 100 index falls 56 points
- US stocks still mixed
- AstraZeneca higher after Japanese all-clear for leukaemia drug
5pm: Traders cautiously watch COVID-19 responses on both sides of the Atlantic
The FTSE 100 slid 56 points, 0.8%, to 6,639, and the FTSE 250 lost 247 points, more than 1%, to 20,350.
"Stock markets had a lacklustre start to the session but the selling pressure picked up throughout the day," CMC Markets UK analyst David Madden wrote Monday. "Concerns that additional and stricter restrictions will prolong the economic rebound in the wake of the pandemic are weighing on market confidence. It is believed that Britain will tighten rules in relation to people flying into the country."
As a result, airline stocks have taken a hit. Ryanair Holdings PLC (LON:RYA) dropped 4% to £14.26 and easyJet plc fell more than 6% to £728.60.
In the US, the Dow was 183 points lower, a 0.6% drop, at midday. The S&P 500 ticked down 6 points, 0.2%, despite opening in the green. The Nasdaq started up, swung down into the red and rebounded to 39 points, a 0.3% gain, above the flatline.
"The mood is a little downbeat in the US as the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 are in negative territory," Madden wrote. "US lawmakers are debating the $1.9 trillion stimulus plan put forward by President Biden so that is counteracting the lockdown-related news in Europe. A number of major companies, such as Apple, Tesla and Facebook, will post their latest quarterly updates this week, so those reports will be in focus."
3.25pm: A bit of support for Big Pharma
For what it is worth, the FTSE 100 has stopped the rot in terms of losing ground.
London’s index of blue-chip stocks was down 65 points (1.0%) at 6,630, with the heavily-weighted drugs behemoths AstraZeneca PLC (LON:AZN) and GlaxoSmithKline PLC (LON:GSK) pitching in to limit the index’s losses.
The former is up 1.8% at 7,913p after it received clearance from the Japanese authorities to market its Calquence treatment for leukaemia and the latter is 1.7% better at 1,403.6p.
READ AstraZeneca receives approval in Japan for leukaemia drug
“Renewed lockdowns and restrictive measures globally are dragging down the European bourses. A steady stream of countries mulling travel curbs and delays with vaccines is taking its toll with European stocks. While the US is seeing cases mostly trend in the right direction, Spain and France are headed in the wrong direction,” observed Edward Moya at OANDA.
“The holiday peak is supposed to be behind us, yet Western Europe continues to struggle with the COVID. Europe’s lack of big-tech and lingering COVID concerns are weighing on stocks to start the trading week,” he added.
3.20pm: Proactive North America headlines:
Champignon Brands Inc (CSE:SHRM) (OTCQB:SHRMF) opens third ketamine clinic in Ottawa
Todos Medical Ltd (OTCQB:TOMDF) reveals $3.4 million strategic investment from tech-focused venture capital firm Yozma Group Korea
Fury Gold Mines Limited (TSE:FURY) (NYSEAMERICAN:FURY) (FRA:AUN1) intersects gold bearing structure 660m down plunge at Eau Claire; moves second drill to exploration program
Endeavour Mining Corp (TSE:EDV) (OTCMKTS:EDVMF) (FRA:E5Y1) announces sale of non-core Ivory Coast mine to Allied Gold
Valens Company Inc (TSE:VLNS) (OTCQX:VLNCF) (FRA:7LV) to acquire edibles manufacturer LYF Food Technologies in a C$24.9M cash-and-stock deal
NexTech AR Solutions Corp (OTCQB:NEXCF) (NEO:NTAR) (FRA:N29) inks deal to bring its virtual exerpeince platform to Strategic Site Selection clients
Valeo Pharma Inc (CSE:VPH) (OTCQB:VPHIF) (FRA:VP2) receives notice of positive recommendation from Quebec’s INESSS for medications to prevent and treat thromboembolic disorders
Aurania Resources Ltd (CVE:ARU) (OTCQB:AUIAF)( FRA:20Q) identifies 'extensive' new target area on its flagship Lost Cities-Cutucu project in Ecuador
Medexus Pharmaceuticals Inc. (CVE:MDP) (OTCQX:MEDXF) (FRA:P731) renews and expands distribution agreement for NYDA, a market-leading treatment for head lice, through to September 26, 2026
Predictmedix (CSE:PMED) (OTCQB:PMEDF) making progress in showcasing its screening solutions; set for a public event in New York
2.45pm: Wall Street manages mostly higher open
The main indices on Wall Street managed to open mostly higher on Monday morning as investors seem mostly upbeat ahead of a bumper week for earnings.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.15% at 30,948, however the S&P 500 was more positive, rising 0.33% to 3,854, while the Nasdaq also climbed 1.18% to 13,703.
Among those firms riding the positive wave in early deals was GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME), which soared 35.1% to US$87.80 as it continued to benefit from a wave of frenzied speculative buying.
Also on the rise was cinema chain AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE:AMC), which jumped 33.3% to US$4.68 after it said it had raised US$917mln to help it stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Back in London, the FTSE 100 was still in the doldrums, down 66 points at 6,628 at around 2.45pm.
1.50pm: Retail footfall fell off a cliff in 2020 but recovered last week
Market research group Springboard said that footfall at UK retail locations recovered in the week to January 23.
Footfall as up 9% on the previous week, when customer visits were down 10.9% on the week before.
Last week marked the first week footfall had increased since the week beginning December 13.
Retail parks, which generally fared less badly than shopping centres and the High Street in 2020, saw footfall rise by 4.5%, which paled in comparison to the 10.9% rise in customer visits seen on the High Street and the 9.2% increase seen in shopping centres.
Diane Wehrle, the Insights Director at Springboard, said the recovery was possibly a sign that shoppers are wearying of lockdown restrictions.
“The last rise in footfall was in the peak Christmas trading week beginning 13th December, and even then the rise was only a third as large as last week’s; since then there has been a double digit drop in footfall in each week,” she said.
The rebound follows a year that retailers – well, the ones that still have physical outlets – will be glad to see the back of.
Springboard’s data revealed that footfall over the whole of 2020 was down 39.1% on 2019.
Retail parks saw their footfall decline by 23%, compared to a 41.9% slide for shopping centres and a 45.2% fall for the High Street.
There was some evidence of consumers going out of their way – or at least abandoning the car – to support their local shops but not so much in central London, where footfall was down 58.7% on the year before.
“To use the word ‘unprecedented’ truly underplays the impact that Covid-19 has had on the retail industry as businesses large and small fought for survival,” Wehrle said.
“However, as the vaccine is successfully rolled out across the UK in 2021, this offers hope for retailers in the second half of the year, albeit with social distancing measures still in place.
“If Covid-19 has taught us anything, it is the need we all have for human interaction and sensory satisfaction, and this is likely to drive visits and spend in stores and destinations.
“What is likely to continue to change in 2021 is the types of destinations that consumers visit and the frequency and when they do so, and much of this change will be driven by the shift to home working,” she predicted.
My recap on today's big retail newshttps://t.co/2VavpcOeWS
— Giulia Bottaro #BlackLivesMatter (@julne_) January 25, 2021
The FTSE 100 was down 79 points (1.2%) at 6,616.
12.40am: Mixed signals from the US
Spread betting quotes are sending mixed signals ahead of the start of trading on Wall Street.
The S&P 500 is expected to open some 8 points higher at 3,849 but the Dow Jones industrial average and the Nasdaq Composite are both expected to start lower, although earnings announcements – of which there are set to be a lot this week – could change that.
The Dow is tipped to start 56 points lower at 30,941 and the Nasdaq is seen kicking off 50 points weaker at 13,494.
READ Apple, Tesla and Facebook earnings under big scrutiny in coming week
GameStop was the stock to watch in pre-market trading as it added to Friday's hefty gains.
There is a battle going on between the bulls of the stock and the short sellers of a company disdainfully referred to as “the Blockbuster of video games”.
GameStop stock already going CRAZY in the pre market
— Sir Tim (@sirtimsmusic) January 25, 2021
“Perhaps it's the anticipation of more bumper results that's driving this early week optimism, after Netflix got the season off to a strong start for the sector. A number of these names have thrived in the current environment and the expectation seems to be that we're going to see more of the same,” said Craig Erlam at OANDA.
“Monday has little to offer on this front but with almost a quarter of the S&P 500 due to report this week, it's a theme that's likely to be a key sentiment driver in the coming days. Investors were a little more risk averse late last week but this week could get them back on track,2 he suggested.
The tech bonanza may be continuing but so is the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, with the Johns Hopkins database reporting 130,000 new cases in the US last week, which encouragingly was 27% lower than the number of cases reported the previous Sunday.
“The trend rate of decline remains steady, with cases falling by about 22% per week. The seven-day average has fallen 32% from its peak, on January 8, and is now below its pre-Thanksgiving level. By the turn of next month, the US is on course to report its first day with fewer than 100K new cases since November 2,” said Ian Shepherdson, the chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
“Test positivity continues to fall rapidly, averaging 11.2% over the past week, down from a peak of 16.8% in the week ended January 8,” he added.
“We doubt that the current level of restrictions is enough to keep cases falling towards zero, but over the next couple months it is reasonable to expect vaccination to start making a visible difference, initially by reducing the number of hospitalisations and deaths per case, because the most vulnerable people are being vaccinated first,” Shepherdson said.
If big-name earnings announcements are thin on the ground in the US today, the situation is much the same for macroeconomic data.
The Chicago Federal Reserve’s national activity index is due out at 1.30 UK time but I doubt many traders will be postponing their lunch for it. For the record, the expectation is that the December reading will ease to 0.10 from 0.27 in November.
In th UK, the FTSE 100 drifted lower throughout the morning, such that it is now 42 points (0.6%) down on the day.
“The pandemic continues to eat away at confidence – now the British government is said to be considering extending lockdown for another three months beyond Easter. This is to get the second dose of vaccines to all over-50s, but just extends the pain for everyone, particularly travel stocks as it’s starting to appear as though as another peak summer season will be affected by Covid restrictions,” said Neil Wilson at markets.com.
11.10am: New kids on the fashion block scrabble to pick over the bones of failed old-time rivals
After an indecisive start, London’s traders appear to have made their mind up to head south … very, very gradually.
The FTSE 100 was down 19 points (0.3%) at 6,676.
Not a lot has got the old juices flowing this morning but the private equity owners of Dr Martens might be feeling a frisson of anticipation as the flotation of the fashion brand draws closer.
According to the Reuters news agency, the shares will be priced somewhere between 330p and 370p.
Elsewhere in the world of fashion, Boohoo Group PLC (LON:BOO) was 4.4% firmer at 347.5p after making what it called a “strategic” acquisition.
READ Boohoo buys Debenhams brand to branch into beauty and sports
It is buying up the Debenhams brand, hoping to exploit the collapsed department store’s reputation for cosmetics et al by branching out into the new categories of beauty, sport and homeware.
Some would say Debenhams never recovered from being taken private and then floated by private equity at an over-inflated price with too much debt but enough about Dr Martens
Online rival ASOS PLC (LON:ASC), meanwhile, is interested in picking up the remnants of the collapsed Arcadia retail group; it is in exclusive discussions with the administrators of Arcadia over the acquisition of the Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT brands.
ASOS shares were 5.5% to the good at 5,052p.
So Boohoo acquires Debenhams and ASOS is in talks to buy Arcadia. Being able to go in and try clothes will be a thing of the past soon won’t it? ????
— It’s Me .... Amy (@BambiAmy78) January 25, 2021
10.00am: On the level - starting the week with the status quo
Fancy some Status Quo? Well, you’ve got it in spades in the London stock market this morning.
Not the Quo, the 12-bar boogie specialists but instead the “strength of commodity stocks offsets the weakness of travel stocks” stalemate that has seen the FTSE 100 mark time this morning.
London’s index of heavyweight shares was down 10 points (0.2%) at 6,685.
“Once again the optimism generated by the vaccine breakthroughs at the end of 2020 is colliding with the reality of inoculating populations and dealing with the new variants of Covid-19,” said Russ Mould, AJ Bell’s investment director.
“The uneven nature of the vaccine rollout always made restrictions on travel a risk and it is one which is rapidly coming to fruition while the more infectious strains of coronavirus also mean caution at the border,” he added.
Small wonder then that travel-related stocks remain in the doghouse.
Supermarket giant Tesco PLC (LON:TSCO) was 0.5% lower at 240.7p despite confirming it would pay out a special dividend of 50.93p after selling off its businesses in Thailand and Malaysia.
Drugs titan AstraZeneca PLC (LON:AZN) edged 1.4% higher to 7,884p after the Japanese authorities approved Calquence for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia that has come back after a period of improvement or that is hard to treat.
Among the mid-caps, inter-broker dealer TP ICAP PLC (LON:TCAP) was 0.6% firmer at 219p after it updated on its Brexit readiness plan, which it hopes will ensure its operating platform will be able to continue servicing its EU-based clients.
8.45am: Barely a move on Monday
Subdued would be the best way to describe the price action in London early on Monday as the Square Mile failed to pick up on the good vibes generated by Asia’s main markets.
The FTSE 100 opened 2 just points higher at 6,697.04.
The travel and hospitality sectors took a hit following reports over the weekend suggesting prolonged coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions for both.
IAG (LON:IAG), the owner of British Airways and Iberia, fell 8.3% after it was revealed the UK may be close to introducing an Australia-style quarantine system for international travellers.
Rolls-Royce (LON:RR.), the jet engine maker whose fortunes are intertwined with those of the airlines, dropped 7% in sympathy.
Whitbread (LON:WTB), the owner of the Premier Inn chain of budget hotels, was the other big blue-chip casualty with a fall of 3%.
On the FTSE 250, easyJet (LON:EZJ), TUI (LON:TUI) and Wizz Air (LON:WIZZ) were off between 4%-6%; publican Mitchells & Butlers (LON:MAB) fell 3.2%.
Among the smaller-caps, the healthcare stocks were in demand. Synairgen (LON:SNG) was up 10% after its inhaled respiratory drug was included on a high profile US government-sponsored coronavirus trial.
Med-tech firm Inspiration Healthcare (LON:IHC) was up 8% after saying revenues and profits would exceed market expectations.
Proactive news headlines:
Synairgen PLC (LON:SNG) has said its inhaled interferon beta-1a respiratory treatment has been included in a US government-sponsored coronavirus (COVID-19) clinical trial. The drug discovery and development specialist said researchers will assess SNG001’s potential to help COVID-19 patients not yet requiring hospitalisation. The ACTIV-2 study, sponsored by America’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is part of the US National Institutes of Health and is being used to accelerate the development of the most promising treatment candidates.
Zephyr Energy PLC (LON:ZPHR) told investors it has successfully plugged the State 16-2 well for future re-entry and horizontal follow-up, whilst well data is analysed. The explorer noted that it has secured 113 feet of continuous core from the Cane Creek reservoir. Overall some 31 sidewall cores were also gathered from 11 overlying secondary reservoirs, which is more than the pre-drill goal of 20 samples from 7 reservoirs. Well logs were also taken across most of the Paradox formation. Initial indications from the data suggest the presence of hydrocarbons in multiple reservoir intervals, Zephyr said. It is expected that initial results will be announced on January 29.
Filta Group Holdings PLC (LON:FLTA), which provides services to commercial kitchens, has said it delivered a much stronger performance in the second half of last year and is encouraged by its pipeline of new sales. The fryer management specialist managed to slash its debt in 2020 by 42% to around £500,000 despite the restaurant trade being rocked by coronavirus lockdowns. Cash and cash equivalents at the year-end totalled £4.2mln, up 45% from £2.9mln at the end of 2019.
H&T Group Plc (LON:HAT) has said trading in November and December was better than expected and profits for 2020 will be ahead of forecasts as a result. Retail jewellery sales were good throughout the half-year but especially strong in December, said the AIM-listed pawnbroker, while the high gold price boosted scrappage returns. It noted that foreign currency business dropped to 65% of the level seen twelve months earlier, though Western Union transaction volumes were more than three times higher.
Gaming Realms PLC (LON:GMR) said it has signed a direct-integration agreement with sports betting and online gaming operator BetMGM to increase its presence in the US market. The AIM-listed developer of mobile bingo games said that under the terms of the three-year agreement its Slingo content will be integrated into BetMGM Casino in Pennsylvania and Michigan during the first half of 2021, while also facilitating its access to additional US markets in the future.
AdEPT Technology Group PLC (LON:ADT) has highlighted the part it is playing in enabling schoolchildren to carry on learning during the coronavirus lockdown. The company said it has passed a milestone in its partnership with Google's G Suite for Education and Microsoft's Office 365 Education with more than 500 schools now being set up with a digital education platform. The company said it is well-placed to win more business through its partnership with Google and Microsoft. Rolling out digital education platforms offers the company the chance to sell additional services to its customers.
Norman Broadbent (LON:NBB), the recruitment and professional services firm, said it stayed in profit in 2020 despite the adverse impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The AIM-listed group said actions taken at the start of the pandemic had enabled it largely to offset a drop in group net fee income of 18% to £6.2mln in the year to end December 2020. Gross margins increased to 79% (2019: 66%), with cost-cutting measures introduced at the start of the lockdowns in March meaning positive underlying profits [EBITDA] for the full year.
Eckoh PLC (LON:ECK) has launched an upgraded version of CallGuard, its patented payment card industry data security standard compliant secure payment solution. Eckoh said the new advanced features will improve the functionality and user experience for contact centre agents and managers. Currently, organisations across all sectors use CallGuard to secure their customers' payment data and mitigate against fraud, many of which were instrumental in shaping the new features in this upgrade.
Minds + Machines Group Limited (LON:MMX) said it has made its interim chief executive appointment permanent while also reporting that its revenues for its 2020 financial year have been “largely in line” with those from 2019. The internet domain name specialist said Tony Farrow, who re-joined the company at the end of October as interim CEO has been appointed to the position formally and will join the board following the completion of due diligence. Meanwhile, in an update on its trading, the company said renewal revenues have remained consistent in 2020 at 68%, while new standard registration revenue increased to 24% with reduced dependency on premium domains. In a separate announcement, Minds + Machines said it has entered a settlement agreement with the vendors of ICM Registry, including its former majority shareholder Stuart Lawley, under recent alleged warranty claims over an acquisition agreement entered into between Minds + Machines and ICM on May 3, 2018.
Supermarket Income REIT PLC (LON:SUPR) has announced the exchange of contracts for the acquisition of a Sainsbury's supermarket in Melksham, Wiltshire, and a Waitrose supermarket in Winchester, Hampshire, from LaSalle Investment Management for £64.8mln, representing a combined net initial yield of 4.4%. The real estate investment trust, which provides secure, inflation-protected, long income from grocery property in the UK, said the acquisitions are expected to complete in the coming weeks upon the completion of property-related due diligence.
After-hours on Friday, Supermarket Income REIT also announced that it had arranged a new revolving credit facility (RCF) of £80.0mln with Barclays and Royal Bank of Canada. The secured, interest-only RCF, has a 5-year term (comprising an initial three-year term and two further one-year extension options) and a margin of 150 basis points over SONIA, representing a total cost of debt of 1.55%. The RCF also includes a £70mln uncommitted accordion option which is exercisable at any time over the term of the facility. Ben Green, Director of Atrato Capital Limited, the investment adviser to Supermarket Income REIT, said: "The new RCF facility, secured with two new lenders to Supermarket Income REIT, Barclays and Royal Bank of Canada, provides us with further diversification of competitively priced funding to support the Company's growth."
Sirius Real Estate PLC (LON:SRE) the Germany-focused business park owner, said its joint venture with insurance group AXA’s fund management arm has acquired the Sigma Technopark in Augsburg. Titanium, the name of the joint venture, is acquiring the 113,000 square metre park for €80mln. The deal boosts the size of its portfolio to €317mln, almost double that when it launched in 2019. The joint venture now has seven business parks, which are operated by Sirius, with the latest acquisition carried out through AXA IM Alts' Real Assets platform.
NQ Minerals PLC (AQSE:NQMI) (USOTCQB:NQMLF) has been granted permission to undertake more than two kilometres of surface trenching at the Beaconsfield gold mine in northern Tasmania, Australia. The work will aim to identify near-surface gold deposits to add to Beaconsfield's estimated 483,000 ounces resources. "This approval marks an important milestone in bringing this historic gold-rich property back on stream,” said NQ’s chairman David Lenigas in a statement.
BlueRock Diamonds PLC (LON:BRD) has announced the sale of a 14.8 carat stone for US$167,000, equating to a price per carat of US$11,300. The stone’s discovery and recovery from the Kareevlei mine in South Africa was reported on December 21, 2020. An 8.7 carat stone, which was found at the same time, was sold for US$37,000, or US$4,300 per carat.
Condor Gold (LON:CNR) (TSE:COG) has completed a ground investigation program of 23 geotechnical drill holes and 58 test pits on the tailings storage facility (TSF), water retention and attenuation reservoir and processing plant site at La India Project, Nicaragua. Condor is accelerating La India project from a pre-feasibility level of design to final engineering designs on key infrastructure, in preparation for construction. The project is fully-permitted. The final TSF design will be fully compliant with internal and external legislation.
RM Secured Direct Lending PLC (LON:RMDL) said it has received an increased allocation from the British Business Bank under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). The investment trust, which specialised in secured debt investments, said its debt fund was initially granted an allocation of HM Government Guarantee capacity in August 2020 which has now been fully deployed into businesses in RM Funds' focus areas, representing around 11% of the company's net asset value (NAV) as at December 31, 2020.
Newmark Security PLC's (LON:NWT) chairman said the company has performed better than anticipated in its first half despite the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which he said has allowed the company’s investment activities to “continue with only slight delays experienced”. In a statement accompanying results for the six months to October 31, 2020, Maurice Dwek also said the company has entered the second half with “far more optimism than at the start of the year” and as a result expects a revenue reduction which is “materially less” than that experienced in the first half.
Panthera Resources PLC (LON:PAT) has provided an update regarding ongoing work across its West African portfolio, as well as on projects owned by associated company Moydow Holdings. The group said preliminary results at Bassala in Mali suggest a large gold exploration target with over eight kilometres of strike potential. Meanwhile, first-pass drilling at Paimasa in Nigeria has also been completed, with initial assay results expected in the current quarter.
Bahamas Petroleum Company PLC (LON:BPC) said it has been allowed to be added as a primary respondent in the pending legal challenge by environmentalists seeking to impede oil and gas operations offshore Bahamas. The company noted that the Honourable Justice Petra Hanna-Adderley had exercised discretion to add BPC as a respondent to the application which is seeking a judicial review of various decisions taken by the Government concerning Bahamas Petroleum's licences and the drilling of the Perseverance #1 well. As a result, Bahamas Petroleum will be entitled to request that the applicants provide security for costs, for which purpose a hearing has been scheduled for February 17, 2021.
Shanta Gold Ltd (LON:SHG) said it produced 20,622 ounces of gold from its New Luika mine in Tanzania during the fourth quarter of 2020, up from the 19,973 produced in the third quarter. Cash costs per ounce produced were US$559. At the end of the period, the company had cash and available liquidity of US$53.5mln, and net cash of US$37.3mln, following a recent placing.
88 Energy Ltd (LON:88E) has told investors that its enquiries with US authorities have been escalated over the weekend, and positive progress has been made. The explorer late last week announced it was seeking clarification on a recently announced 60-day suspension of authority for the US Department Bureaus and Offices about the issuance of new drilling permits on Federal land. Its application for a drilling permit was submitted on January 12, 2021, and was expected to be approved within a standard 30-day timeframe - that would be due by February 12.
Power Metal Resources PLC (LON:POW) the AIM-listed metals exploration and development company said on Friday it has received notices to exercise warrants over 12,631,578 new ordinary shares of 0.1p each at an exercise price of 0.75p per ordinary share. Subscription monies of £94,737 have been received by Power Metal in respect of these exercises.
6.50am: Positive start predicted
The FTSE 100 looks set to open the new trading week in positive territory, taking its cue from Asia’s main markets.
The region was buoyed on Monday by hopes that a return to normal might not be too far off with the vaccine roll-out continuing.
That, in turn, should provide an economic uplift – although the timing of any rebound remains moot at this early stage of the global inoculation effort.
Here at home, the picture isn’t quite as rosy. While the UK is probably leading the world in rolling out the jab to the old and vulnerable, there are reports restrictions could continue into the summer.
Expect the airline and tourism stocks to come under pressure amid fears the government is about to put in place tough, new quarantine rules for international travel.
The Daily Mail has dubbed the mooted move ‘the death knell for the summer holiday’.
Budget carriers Wizz Air (LON:WIZZ) and easyJet (LON:EZJ) will tell investors how they are navigating lockdown when they update later this week.
The pair are part of a flurry of second-liners reporting. The list includes Irn Bru maker AG Barr (LON:BAG), oldies insurance company Saga (LON:SAGA) and telco TalkTalk (LON:TALK).
The only blue-chip on the schedule this week is the Guinness and Smirnoff drinks giant Diageo (LON:DGE).
In the US, it is a big week for the tech sector with updates planned from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA).
On the markets
- Pound US$1.3715 (+0.21%)
- Bitcoin US$33,238.02 (+1.64%)
- Gold US$1,855.00 (-0.26%)
- Brent Crude US$55.44 (flat)
6.45am: Early Markets - Asia / Australia
Asia-Pacific markets were higher on Monday as China surpassed the US as the world’s largest recipient of foreign direct investment in 2020, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development.
South Korea’s Kospi led gains among the region’s major markets as it surged 2.18%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 2.04% while China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.18%.
Australian shares gained, with the S&P/ASX 200 closing 0.36% higher.
Proactive Australia news:
Lake Resources NL (ASX:LKE) (OTCMKTS:LLKKF) (FRA:LK1) has received commitments to raise A$20.6 million via a placement of shares at 16.5 cents each to institutional investors.
Tempus Resource Ltd (ASX:TMR) (CVE:TMRR) has a strong pipeline of news expected in 2021 which include awaiting Blackdome-Elizabeth Gold Project drilling assays and completing a 6,000-metre drill program by the Canadian summer.
Platina Resources Limited (ASX:PGM) plans to unlock the value of its Platina Scandium Project (PSP) in the wake of the metal’s increasing appeal as a lightweight, high strength alloy for electric vehicles and other markets.
K2fly Ltd (ASX:K2F) has signed a five-year SaaS contract with Alcoa USA Corp (NYSE:AA) to roll out its RCubed resource inventory solution across 6 global sites starting in February 2021.
Cellmid Ltd’s (ASX:CDY) has received the first order from Ourui Health Management Limited (OHM) under the distribution agreement signed on 14 December 2020 for the sale of its Japanese, Ju-Ju® and Lexilis® branded, anti-ageing hair and skincare products in China.
VIP Gloves Ltd (ASX:VIP) has received the Conformitè Europëenne (CE) EU examination certificate, which will allow the company to distribute its nitrile gloves throughout the European Union Economic Area (EEA).
Ansila Energy NL’s (ASX:ANA) (OTCMKTS:PGNYF) Seaward Licence P2607 has been executed and made live on the Oil Portal System, after formally awarding five southern north sea blocks to Hartshead Resources Ltd.
Suda Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX:SUD) (FRA:E4N) ended the second quarter of the 2021 financial year on a positive note, with a cash balance of $5.47 million after a successful capital raise and a refund from the Australian Taxation Office.
PNX Metals Ltd (ASX:PNX) (FRA:4P1) has received firm commitments for the full placement of the non-renounceable pro-rata rights issue shortfall, raising $1,213,732 before costs, according to the non-renounceable pro-rata rights issue, which closed on 17 December 2020.
Kin Mining NL (ASX:KIN) (FRA:8KM) has received further significant assay results from recent in-fill reverse circulation (RC) drilling, which indicate significant widths and grades of up to 10 metres at 10.8 g/t at the northern end of the Bruno Lewis deposit.