On a curtailed trading day ahead of the Christmas break the FTSE 100 is losing some of the momentum which pushed it to a record high yesterday. A (marginal) victory for the separatist faction in Catalonian elections helping to give investors pause for thought and seeing the index dip just below the 7,600 mark.
US-focused plumbing and heating products business Ferguson (FERG) continues to enjoy gains after lawmakers in Washington passed legislation delivering a big corporate tax cut. It is up 2% to £59.45.
Unsurprisingly it is a quiet day for corporate announcements. The main one sees Ladbrokes Coral (LCL) and GVC (GVC) shake hands on a £3.2bn merger. GVC says it sees at least £100m of efficiencies from the deal which should lead to a double-digit boost to earnings. GVC says it will maintain a ‘progressive dividend policy’, a topic we looked at in this article. GVC dips 0.7% to 927.4p and Ladbrokes Coral ticks up 0.6% to 175.1p.
Mining outfit BHP Billiton (BLT) is to provide $181m in financial support to the Renova Foundation and its Brazilian iron ore mine Samarco until the end of June next year. The payments relate to a clean-up operation following a devastating dam failure in 2015 which created what is considered to be one of the largest environmental disasters in Brazil’s history. The shares trade 0.2% lower at £14.67.
Construction services business Carillion (CLLN) gains 4.4% to 18p as it announces its lenders have agreed to defer the company’s financial covenants.
AIM-quoted managed serviced and tech-based security solutions firm Westminster (WSG:AIM) gains 60% to 15p as it says it is closer to securing a Middle East project with an initial phase which will be worth €24m a year.
Biotech ValiRx (VAL:AIM) drops 28% to 4.5p as investors react to the dilution implied by a £1m placing at 4.25p.
Middle East and Australia hotels group Action Hotels (AHCG:AIM) falls 23.2% as it reports a related party transaction and warns on profit.
