UK and international online supermarket Ocado (OCDO) rallies to the top of the FTSE 100 leader board in early trade on an otherwise fairly quiet Tuesday for corporate hews.
Shares in the company rise close on 4% to 947.6p after Ocado reported retail sales growth of 11.5% for the 13 weeks to 2 September. The company also said that its online grocery business received on average 283,000 orders per week, up 11.4%.
This represents a modest slow down on growth rates posted in the previous quarter yet investors are clearly happy with progress.
UK markets are on the back foot in early trade Tuesday with investors widely concerned about international events, with the trade war of words between the US and China ramping up with more tariffs announced by the White House.
That leaves the leading FTSE 100 index around 15 points down at 7,287.09, although midcap FTSE 250 stocks are modestly positive.
INSURANCE M&A
Big news in the UK insurance sector after US financial services group Marsh & McLennan agreed to buy Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) in an all-cash deal that values the UK reinsurance broker at about £4.3bn.
The Marsh & McLennan takeover offer has been quickly agreed with the Jardine Lloyd Thompson board, perhaps unsurprising given the rough 34% premium to the latter’s closing valuation yesterday.
The offer is worth £19.15 per share to Jardine Lloyd Thompson shareholders.
Marks & Spencer (MKS) and ITV (ITV) vie for top spot on the FTSE 100 loser board early on Tuesday, both off around 2% on no particular news, at 279.3p and 155p respectively.
COSTLY HEALTHCARE
Private hospitals operator Spire Healthcare (SPI) sees its share price slump more than 10% to 152p after spooking financial markets with lower earnings guidance.
The company is anticipating a £25m to £30m fall in 2018 core earnings after posting a 21% drop in first half profit because of what the company calls an ‘unprecedented’ fall in referrals from the UK’s NHS.
Spire also unveils John Forrest as its new chief operating officer. The former Greene King (GNK) executive will take up his new role on 8 October 2018.
A relatively upbeat start to the current financial year puts van hire business Northgate (NTG) in investors' good book.
Northgate reports ‘growth accelerating sharply’ during the three months to 31 August, continuing the pattern set during the second half of the previous 12 month period. The bullish mood is reflected in both its main UK and Ireland markets but also in Spain, where it too has substantial operations.
Northgate shares are up 3.2% at 430.4p.
Among smaller companies, Smart Metering Systems (SMS:AIM) sees headline revenues for the six months to 30 June jump 27% to £46.7m, although gross margins are trimmed back again from 51% to 48%.
The company is one of main beneficiaries of the UK government's hit and miss smart meter rollout. Half year operating profit nudged up by a lower 11% to £12.3m, pushing operating margins down to 26%, and seeing the share price weakening by about 1% to 602p.
AMONG SMALLER COMPANIES
Elsewhere, substantial new contract wins see shares in pallets business RM2 (RM2:AIM) and another metering business, CyanConnode (CYAN:AIM), rally strongly on Tuesday, up rough 40% and 33% to 0.78p and 9p respectively.
Gold prices fell on Tuesday as investors sought safety in the US dollar amid concerns of slowing global trade after the United States imposed a new round of tariffs on Chinese imports.
Oil markets fell on Tuesday as the latest escalation in the Sino-US trade war clouded the outlook for crude demand from the two countries, which are the world’s top two oil consumers.
