The Market Report with Katie Pilbeam.
FTSE 100 moved higher as tech stocks staged a rally on Wall Street overnight. London’s blue-chip index is up by 12 to 6,907.
AstraZeneca/]LON:AZN) might face a legal challenge over COVID-19 vaccine deliveries as the EU is preparing proceedings. "EU states have to decide if they (will) participate. It is about fulfilment of deliveries by the end of the second quarter,” an EU official told Reuters. Most countries are in favour of suing the company, said the reports.
NatWest Group PLC (LON:NWG) has said it will refuse to serve business customers that accept payments in cryptocurrency, which it has categorised as “high risk”. According to a Guardian report, the bank’s head of risk Morten Friis told investors at an online event on Wednesday that NatWest has “no appetite” for dealing with customers whose main business is backed by the exchange of crypto.
AJ-Bell-PLC/]LON:AJB) said the run-up to the new tax year was the wealth management platform operator’s busiest ever. In the first three months of 2021 customer numbers increased 11% to 346,797 and were up 32% year-on-year.
Keywords Studios PLC (LON:KWS) has acquired UK video game development services provider Climax Studios for up to £43mln. Keywords said it will add significant scale to operations.
Among the small caps, Love Hemp Group PLC (LON:LIFE) has re-signed Kamaru Usman as a brand ambassador for another year. He is the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s current welterweight champion.
NFT Investments PLC (LON:NFT) has bought a stake in AEON International for US$1mln. AEON uses NFT-based verification against counterfeiting in the luxury fashion sector.