UK shares slipped back into negative territory on Friday afternoon despite US inflation data coming in as expected with the annual rate moving up to 6.8%, the highest since 1982.
The release of the data, and the muted response of the US bond market, where yields fell slightly, gives the Fed the green light to speed up the removal of asset purchases.
Shares in enterprise software company Oracle surged 16% to a new all-time high following yesterday’s strong earnings report and analyst upgrades.
At the close the FTSE index of leading shares was down 0.4% to 7,292 but finished the week up 2.3%.
PRIMARK SHOPPERS NOT PUT OFF
Grocery to fashion retail group AB Foods (ABF) posted a mixed trading update ahead of its annual general meeting.
While the grocery, ingredients and sugar businesses struggle with port congestion and higher energy and freight costs, the Primark fashion business is trading ahead of expectations and margins are also better as the firm faces into the most important selling period of the year. The shares gained 0.5% to £19.44.
Mining giant Anglo American (AAL) confirmed its full year guidance and projected it would grow by 35% over the next decade with ‘an attractive 50% margin’.
The firm also increased its near-term ‘performance improvement target’ to between $3.5 billion and $4.5 billion by 2023 as growth projects come onstream. The shares dropped 1.9% to £29.16.
Specialist food packing firm Hilton Foods (HFG) announced it would raise £75 million or 8% of its current issued capital in order to finance the purchase of smoked salmon producer Dutch Seafood Company, taking it into the US market for the first time.
The capital raise will also go towards refinancing the previous acquisition of Fairfax Meadow and is expected to be earnings accretive within 12 months. The shares dropped 5.4% at £11.32.
ELSEWHERE ON THE MARKET
Shares in sustainable infrastructure firm Nexus (NEXS:AIM) dipped 0.4% to 231 despite posting a rebound in revenues and earnings for the year to September and reinstated its dividend.
Nexus also said it was looking at some ‘exciting strategic opportunities’ for its eSmart Networks electric vehicle charging business ‘to crystalise shareholder value’, which in layman’s terms suggests it is looking to sell to an outside buyer or to float the unit separately.
Shares in contract clinical research firm Open Orphan (ORPH:AIM) jumped 6.3% to 19.7p after it revealed a $13.4 million contract with a US biotech firm to test its novel influenza treatment in human trials at the company’s state-of-the-art lab in London.
The study is expected to start in the second half of next year, alongside the recent £5.1 million contract win for trials for a treatment against respiratory syncytial virus announced last month.
‘Green’ investment trust SDCL Energy Efficiency Income (SEIT) posted a 42% jump in the value of its portfolio to £785 million between March and September and a 36% increase in net asset value to £944 million after new investments and commitments of £208 million.
After a capital raise of £250 million in September, net asset value per share rose a more pedestrian 2% to 104.5p while the total NAV return was 4.7%. The shares dropped 0.9% 116p.
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Disclaimer: The author owns shares in Open Orphan and SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust
