European markets were rather subdued on Friday morning, with investors seemingly sitting on the sidelines ahead of this afternoon’s US non-farm payroll numbers.
By 8.50, the FTSE was up a mere 0.08% at 6,508.6 points, with the FTSE 250 edging 0.6% higher to 20,935.8.
The blue chip benchmark was also constrained by strength in sterling as the Bank of England indicated yesterday that negative rates were unlikely and predicted a big bounce back in UK GDP.
CORPORATE NEWS
Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca (AZN) edged up 0.4% to £74.13, despite conceding that its head and neck cancer drug candidate Imfinzi failed to meet its primary and secondary objectives in a clinal trial.
Insurance company Beazley (BEZ) bounced 13.3% higher to 364p as chief executive Andrew Horton said his charge has the ‘capital strength to support our growth plans’ and expressed confidence Beazley ‘can return to paying dividends during the course of 2021’.
Beazley swung to an annual loss in 2020 following a deterioration in its combined ratio amid a wave of Covid-19 related claims, though it achieved a 19% increase in gross premiums written to almost $3.6 billion, supported by rate rises across most of its divisions.
BID BATTLE FOR FRENCH CONNECTION
French Connection (FCCN) surged 39% higher to 22p as the hard-pressed fashion retailer confirmed it is in talks with Spotlight Brands and Go Global Retail concerning possible takeover offers, although talks with both potential acquirers ‘remain at a very early stage’.
RF and microwave semiconductors developer CML Microsystems (CML) improved 1.1% to 384p on the completion of the $49 million sale of its storage division Hyperstone to Swissbit, a disposal that will enable CML to refocus exclusively on the high-growth global communications market.
Cyber security services minnow Falanx (FLX:AIM) firmed 8.3% to 1.3p on news of new contract wins and renewals across both divisions and that the company is in talks to secure the UK government-backed coronavirus loan to support acquisitions and growth.
African-focused Savannah Energy (SAVE:AIM) surged 6.4% to 17.45p after inking a gas sales agreement with Mulak Energy, a deal that takes Savanah into a compressed natural gas market that chief executive Andrew Knott sees as ‘offering strong growth potential for our business over the course of the next decade’.
