Bull statue wearing Santa hat
Stocks in London opened in the green on Tuesday morning / Image source: Adobe

Stocks in London opened in the green on Tuesday morning but not everyone is feeling the Christmas spirit, with Vistry issuing a profit warning.

The FTSE 100 index opened up 21.00 points, 0.3%, at 8,123.72. The FTSE 250 was up 57.64 points, 0.3%, at 20,476.73, and the AIM All-Share was up 3.11 points, 0.4%, at 715.55.

The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 815.18, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 17,932.69, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.3% at 10,360.19.

AstraZeneca gained 0.5% on the FTSE 100.

Along with Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo, Astra has voluntarily withdrawn a marketing authorisation application in the EU for datopotamab deruxtecan for adults with locally advanced or metastatic nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer.

AstraZeneca said the decision to withdraw was informed by feedback from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency.

Vistry was the FTSE 250’s biggest loser, dropping 17%.

Vistry announced that it expects around £250 million in adjusted pretax profit for 2024, compared with its previous target of about £300 million, ‘primarily due to delays to expected year-end transactions and completions’.

Among smaller companies, Windward surged 41%.

The Tel Aviv-based maritime predictive intelligence company has agreed to a recommended acquisition offer by FTV VIII LP which values its share capital at approximately £216 million.

Windward shareholders will be entitled to receive 215 pence per share in cash.

Kooth jumped 9.4%.

The youth digital mental health care provider plans to launch a share buyback programme worth up to £1.5 million.

In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.4%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 0.2%.

The pound was quoted higher at $1.2537 early on Tuesday in London, compared to $1.2525 at the equities close on Monday. The euro stood at $1.0395, against $1.0399. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP¥157.01 compared to JP¥157.12.

In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was down 0.3%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was up 1.3%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 1.2%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.2%.

In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.2%, the S&P 500 up 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite up 1.0%.

Brent oil was quoted higher at $73.07 a barrel early in London on Tuesday from $72.09 late Monday.

Gold was quoted higher at $2,618.56 an ounce against $2,611.83.

Still to come on Tuesday’s economic calendar, from the US this afternoon look out for durable goods orders; new home sales; and the Richmond Fed manufacturing index.

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Issue Date: 24 Dec 2024