| |
| Please Note - Streaming News is only available to subscribers to the Active Level and above |
|
|
|
FTSE opens 0.9% lower as US bond yields rise
StockMarketWire.com
|
UK stocks opened lower on Monday as rising US bond yields and inflation fears tempered Covid vaccine optimism.
At 0824, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 56.45 points, or 0.9%, at 6,567.57.
Security group G4S slumped 9.7% to 242.8p after private equity firm GardaWorld said it wouldn't raise its 235p offer for the company, cooling hopes of a bidding war.
G4S had rejected GardaWorld's offer in favour of 245p bid from Allied Universal.
Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca added 0.2% to £72.39 even after it said it was withdrawing a bladder cancer drug in the US after it failed to meet post-marketing requirements in a clinical study.
Infection prevention group Tristel rose 3.0% to 618p, having posted a 12% rise in first-half profit, as hospitals rushed to purchase disinfectants amid the pandemic.
Tristel declared an interim dividend of 2.62p per share, up 12% year-on-year, as 15% growth in sales hit the top end of the company's 10-15% target.
Pub group Mitchells & Butlers reversed 1.5% to 318.02p after it said its sales had fallen sharply due to the UK's Covid-19 lockdown.
Mitchells & Butlers, while launching a planned £350 million equity raising, said managed sales between 27 September and 16 January had dropped 70% year-on-year.
Veterinary drugs company Dechra Pharmaceuticals shed 1.8% to £35.46, even as hiked its dividend 8% to 11.11p per share on the back of an 82% jump in first-half profit.
Dechra said it was starting to see a pre-Brexit inventory build unwind and, therefore, was expecting the balance of trading to be first-half weighted.
Computing and power product manufacturer Solid State climbed 3.6% to 798p, having upgraded its profit guidance, citing strong demand for higher-margin products.
Solid State's profit for the year through March was expected to be ahead of consensus forecasts, with revenue in line with forecasts.
Footwear retailer Shoe Zone rose 2.8% to 73p, even as it announced that finance director Peter Foot had left, with immediate effect, and that it had started searching for a replacement.
Foot had only stepped into the role in July last year.
Argentina-focused oil company President Energy shed 0.8% to 2.4p after it said it would post a drop in annual earnings and revenue, as lower crude prices offset a rise in output.
Looking ahead to 2021, President Energy forecast a rise in annual production to between 3,600 and 4,000 barrels of oil per day. Story provided by StockMarketWire.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
