Stocks around the world took something of a pause today after a heavy sell-off yesterday, though the FTSE remains volatile, with markets concerned over a second wave of coronavirus infections.
US markets all closed over 5% lower last night, with the Dow Jones tumbling 6.9%, as pockets of the country battle with a rapidly rising number of cases again, something which appears to be happening in some other countries too as they ease lockdowns.
After a big fall yesterday, the FTSE 100 has experienced continued volatility this morning but by 9am was trading relatively flat at 6,073.50.
Asian stock markets were also a little more subdued with China’s Shanghai Composite down just 0.04%. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was down 0.71% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 0.74%.
Following a strong few days, gold’s gains were tempered with a 0.2% rise today to $1,733.26 per ounce.
MITCHELLS & BUTLERS RULES OUT DIVIDEND BEFORE END OF 2021
In company news, pub group Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) dropped 1.8% to 197.4p on announcing that it would not pay any dividends until the end of the 2021 financial year through September.
The decision, which also included a pause on any share buybacks, was made as part of new lending arrangements to help the company ride out the coronavirus crisis.
‘The financial arrangements we are announcing today put us in good shape to address the challenge ahead based on what we believe to be a conservative downside scenario in which the reopening of any of our sites is delayed until October and sales then build back to reach full previous year trade levels over the period to July 2021,’ the company said.
INFORMA JUMPS AS IT EYES CHINA RETURN
Exhibitions group Informa (INF) jumped 6.5% to 462p after it said it planned to run major events in China from early July, with China Beauty Expo in Shanghai the first big event set to run.
It comes as the company expects to report lower revenue as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, with over 160 events cancelled or rephrased from 2020 to 2021.
A further 300-plus brands had committed to a digital rather than a physical event in 2020. The company said there was minimal physical product scheduled for June.
Revenue for the year through December was likely to be about £2bn, down 31% from £2.89bn last year.
GAMES WORKSHOP RALLIES ON PROFIT FORECAST
Miniature wargames supplier Games Workshop (GAW) rallied 10% to £78.09 after it forecast a rise in its annual profit for the year through March 2020 to ‘no less than £85m’, with sales estimated at £270m, and said it was continuing to reopen stores as lockdowns ease. Last year, Games Workshop posted a pre-tax profit of £81.3m.
Just over 300 of its stores are now open, with social distancing, out of 532 in 20 countries globally, with its warehouses operational again and factory back running at a limited capacity.
Its cash balance as at 31 May 2020 is estimated to be around £50m, the firm has also put in place a £25m overdraft facility.
BIFFA RAISES £100M THROUGH PLACING
Waste management company Biffa (BIFF) fell 5.5% to 206p after it said it had raised about £100m through a discounted equity placing.
The company placed just under 50m shares, about 19.99% of its total shares, at a price of 200p a share, representing a discount of 5% to yesterday’s closing share price of 210.5p.
A small tranche was made available to retail investors via PrimaryBid.
OTHER COMPANY NEWS
Music rights investor Hipgnosis Songs Fund (SONG) firmed 0.9% to 111.5p despite announcing that it was mulling a potential equity raising to help fund a £1bn acquisitions pipeline.
Supermarket food supplier Bakkavor (BAKK) softened 2.3% to 77p after its sales slumped in April and May.
Infrastructure services provider Nexus Infrastructure (NEXS:AIM) shed 6% to 155p, having announced a discounted equity raising amid a ‘severe’ impact from the coronavirus crisis.
New shares in Nexus Infrastructure were issued at 140p each, representing a 15% discount to their closing price yesterday.
Location software group 1Spatial (SPA:AIM) rallied 11% to 24.9p as it won a contract from the US state of Michigan worth about $2.6m over five years.
Property investor Warehouse REIT (WHR:AIM) gained 0.9% to 111p on securing a 10-year lease renewal with information management services group Iron Mountain at the Stretton Green distribution park in Warrington.
Fellow property investor Stenprop (STP) edged 0.9% higher to 110p as it held its annual dividend steady, despite its earnings slipping on the back of lower rental income.
