After Monday's Martin Luther King day market holiday, US stocks resumed their downward trajectory on Tuesday extending last week’s losses. By mid-afternoon the S&P 500 index was 1.8% lower and the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 index was 2.1% lower.
The negative sentiment was exacerbated by a further rise in the yield on the benchmark 10 year Treasury note, which reached 1.843%, its highest level since January 2020.
The shift in US ten-year treasury yields mirrored that in the UK where the yield on 10 year gilts hit a three month high and spooked investors.
The FTSE 100 index ended the day down 48 points or 0.6% at 7,564 points, led lower by consumer and retail stocks while defensive sectors such as telecoms eked out minor gains and oil stocks rallied as Brent crude prices topped $88 per barrel.
THG DISAPPOINTS
Online retail business THG (THG) was under the cosh, its shares losing almost 10% to 168p after warning that profit margins for last year would miss analysts’ forecasts and revenue growth for the coming year would slow.
The consumer brand e-commerce platform, which floated in September 2020 at 500p, said group revenues rose by 38% on a constant currency basis last year but that growth would slow to between 22% and 25% this year. Management also warned of rising commodity prices affecting its nutrition division.
MORE COMPANY NEWS
Shares in Just Group (JUST) gained 8.2% to 93p after it posted a 25% jump in full-year retirement income sales to £2.7 billion.
Alternative asset management firm Petershill Partners (PHLL) advanced 0.2% to 238p after saying it invested $458 million on acquisitions in the fourth quarter, which are expected to be immediately accretive to consensus earnings forecasts.
Marshalls (MSLH) rose 4% to 713p as the landscaping specialist lifted full-year guidance following a strong final quarter of the last fiscal year which helped drive a 26% increase in annual revenue.
Defence technology firm Qinetiq (QQ.) rallied 6.8% to 289.4p after saying it remained on track to meet full-year expectations after ‘strong’ progress in the third quarter.
Chemicals company Elementis (ELM) said on Tuesday that fourth-quarter adjusted operating profits were now expected to be in the range of $105 million to $107 million, modestly ahead of expectations.
The news was taken well by investors, sending the stock 2.3% higher to 137p.
Recruitment minnow Gattaca (GATC:AIM) fell almost 32% after warning on profit as recovery in its markets was coming through slower than hoped. The stock, worth 272p last summer, fell to 95p.
CYBA (CYBA) shares shot up 33% to 2.2p as it confirmed it is still in discussions to buy PolySwarm. The SPAC business made the announcement after noting the recent movement of PolySwarm’s cryptocurrency token Nectar.
On 12 January 2022 Nectar was accepted for trading on the Coinbase Exchange and within two trading days had increased by 760%.
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