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FTSE opens 1.5% lower as travel bans, Brexit ructions weigh
StockMarketWire.com
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UK stocks fell substantially on Monday as scant progress on Brexit trade talks and fresh Covid-related travel bans in Europe doused optimism sparked by a US stimulus deal.
At 0825, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 96.42 points, or 1.5%, at 6,432.76.
NatWest, formerly known as Royal Bank of Scotland, slumped 4.3% to 150.55p after it agreed to acquire a £3.0 billion portfolio of prime UK mortgages from challenger lender Metro Bank for £3.1 billion.
The portfolio consisted of owner occupied residential mortgages with a weighted average loan-to-value of around 60%. Metro Bank rallied 18% to 135p.
Oil major Royal Dutch Shell lost 3.1% to £13.378 as it foreshadowed net charges of between $3.5 billion and $4.5 billion in the fourth quarter, in relation to impairments, asset restructuring and onerous contracts.
Shell also said adjusted earnings at its upstream business were expected to show a loss 'in the current price environment'.
Telecom company Vodafone, meanwhile, descended 2.3% to 123.06p on announcing that discussions about a potential $2.4 billion sale of its 55% shareholding in Vodafone Egypt had been terminated.
Vodafone didn't indicate why the talks had ended, only saying it believed the Egyptian government was 'committed to an optimal framework for the telecoms sector' that would allow it to create a technology hub for growth in Africa.
Aviation services group Signature Aviation gained 1.5% to 374.4p after it said it was minded to back a takeover bid for the company made by private equity group Blackstone.
Blackstone Infrastructure Advisors and Blackstone Core Equity Management Associates had offered $5.17 per Signature share, equating to £3.86 in sterling and a 44% premium to the company's closing price on 16 December.
Retailing group Frasers dropped 5.6% to 448.26p, having pulled its earnings, citing forced store closures in England due to the pandemic.
Frasers, formerly known as Sports Direct, said it could no longer commit to meeting its guidance of achieving a 20%-to-30% improvement in underlying earnings for its 2021 financial year.
Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline climbed 1.1% to £13.7137 on news that its ViiV Healthcare venture with Pfizer had won marketing approval in Europe for an HIV treatment.
Rival drug company AstraZeneca gained 0.5% to £75.42 after its non-small cell lung cancer drug was approved in the US.
Property developer Countryside Properties shed 4.1% to 422p as it signed a three-year agreement with Sigma Capital to deliver 5,000 private rental sector new homes across England. Sigma fell 1.9% to 125.1p.
Property investor Stenprop added 0.8% to 135p after it agreed to sell its freehold interest in the Victoria Centre in Berlin, Germany to Art-Invest Real Estate Funds for €37.5 million. Story provided by StockMarketWire.com
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