| |
| Please Note - Streaming News is only available to subscribers to the Active Level and above |
|
|
|
FTSE opens 0.3% higher, oil rises on vaccine optimism
StockMarketWire.com
|
UK stocks opened higher on Monday following rises on Asian exchanges and in the oil price, as a global Covid vaccine rollout gains momentum and US lawmakers close in on a stimulus deal.
At 0824, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 18.61 points, or 0.3%, at 6,507.94.
BP gained 0.9% to 254.25p and Shell was broadly flat at £13.448 after Brent crude prices hit $60 a barrel.
Credit reporting company Experian reversed 1.4% to £26.01, despite stating there was no evidence its systems had been compromised following media reports about data illegally offered for sale in Brazil.
Experian said the data included photographs, social security numbers, vehicle registrations and social media login details, but stressed that its Brazilian unit Serasa did not collect or hold such data.
Online fashion retailer Boohoo fell 2.9% to 354.31p, having agreed to acquire online assets of the Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis brands from Acardia for £25.2 million.
Industrial and electronics group Electrocomponents shed 0.3% to 934.5p, even as it reported like-for-like revenue growth of 8% in the four months through January.
Electrocomponents kept its annual outlook unchanged, citing higher freight and labour costs.
Power generator Drax firmed 1.2% to 392p following news that it agreed to acquire biomass group Pinnacle Renewable Energy for around £226 million.
Drax said the deal would more than double its biomass production capacity, significantly reducing production costs.
Consumer goods UP Global Sourcing, also known as Ultimate Products, rallied 7.7% to 145.34p, having forecast a rise in annual underlying profit after its first-half sales climbed 11% to £75.4 million.
Ultimate Products underlying pre-tax profit for the year through July was now anticipated to be more than £10.3 million, up from £8.2 million year-on-year, on revenue of more than £135 million.
Disease test-kit supplier Omega Diagnostics rallied 22% to 84.99p on confirming it was upscaling its manufacturing capabilities, while acknowledging a media report that it had been selected by the UK government to produce Covid-19 rapid tests.
Omega Diagnostics said it had noted the Financial Times report, which said it was among three companies selected to produce up to 2 million lateral flow devices per day for the UK.
Molecular diagnostics group Yourgene Health slumped 11% to 11.85p after it warned that it would fall short of its previous revenue forecasts, citing the Covid-19 pandemic's impact on ordering patterns.
Yourgenes revenue for the year through March was now expected in the range of £18 million-to-£20 million, lower than previous guidance but still representing year-on-year growth of around 10-20%.
Veterinary drugs group Dechra Pharmaceuticals added 0.3% to £36.38 amid news that it had secured the rights to market pain management product Tri-Solfen in Australia and New Zealand.
Dechra also said it had acquired a further 1.5% stake in Medical Ethics for A$32.5 million, or £18.1 million.
Cloud platform group LoopUp gained 2.7% to 80.1p on confirming that it expected to report higher annual revenue and core earnings for 2020.
Argentina-focused oil company President Energy fell 2.4% to 2.05p as it downgraded its estimated reserves, citing production rates and diminishing time remaining on concessions that it hopes to extend.
Story provided by StockMarketWire.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
