London’s FTSE opened lower on Thursday as the UK government prepared to lift the two metre distancing rule in a bid to boost the economy.
The blue chip benchmark’s jittery start followed the US Federal Reserve’s June FOMC meeting yesterday, where chairman Jerome Powell announced the FOMC expects there to be no rate increases until 2022 and forecast that the US economy will contract by 6.5% in 2020, with the unemployment rate expected to end this year at 9.3%.
Unilever (ULVR) improved 1.8% to £44.56 after the consumer goods colossus announced plans to unify its group corporate structure under a single Britain-based parent company, Unilever PLC, via a cross-border merger to create ‘a simpler company with greater strategic flexibility, that is better positioned for future success’.
The Marmite-to-Magnum ice cream maker said the COVID-19 pandemic had created a business environment where having ‘flexibility and responsiveness’ will be ‘critically important’.
Just Eat Takeaway.com (JET) firmed 48p to £76.74 on the news it is to acquire Grubhub in a $7.3bn deal as the food delivery company looks to bolster its presence in the US.
Babcock International (BAB) lost 7.1% to trade at 379.2p after announcing pre-tax losses of £178.2m for the year to March 2020, compared with a profit of £235.2m a year earlier, and deferring its decision on a final dividend until there is greater visibility on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ocado (OCDO) softened 4.75% to £19.80 on profit-taking after successfully raising just over £1bn of growth funding through a placing, retail offer and convertible bond offering.
Chemicals maker Johnson Matthey (JMAT) cheapened 2.2% to £21.44 after posting a 27% fall in 2020 operating profit and halving the final dividend. Johnson Matthey announced it was targeting additional annual savings of at least £80m by the end of 2023, which will lead to the job losses, as demand for its pollution filters has taken a hit due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Online price comparison group Moneysupermarket.com (MONY) was marked down 6.5% to 324p after it reported a 22% decline in car insurance search volumes in April due to COVID-19 and warned its money business remains ‘significantly suppressed’.
Online trading firm CMC Markets (CMC) clipped ahead 10.4% to 220p after reporting a jump in annual profit, helped by a surge in transaction volumes amid intense market volatility in the fourth quarter fuelled by the crisis. Upgrades ensued as CMC issued a strong outlook statement with buoyant trading conditions continuing in the current financial year.
Fishing tackle retailer Angling Direct (ANG:AIM) slid 10.2% to 53p after announcing a discounted £5.5m placing to strengthen the balance sheet and provide extra funding for prompt payment of suppliers to secure product.
Angling Direct also anticipates a high level of customer demand over the coming weeks as lockdown restrictions are eased and retail stores re-open from 15 June, which coincides with the start of the coarse fishing season.
