Less Ads, More Data, More Tools Register for FREE

Pin to quick picksDarktrace Share News (DARK)

Share Price Information for Darktrace (DARK)

London Stock Exchange
Share Price is delayed by 15 minutes
Get Live Data
Share Price: 587.20
Bid: 587.00
Ask: 588.00
Change: 0.20 (0.03%)
Spread: 1.00 (0.17%)
Open: 587.00
High: 589.20
Low: 587.00
Prev. Close: 587.00
DARK Live PriceLast checked at -

Watchlists are a member only feature

Login to your account

Alerts are a premium feature

Login to your account

London close: Stocks finish weaker amid uninspiring data

Thu, 21st Dec 2023 16:03

(Sharecast News) - London's stock markets ended the day in negative territory on Thursday, despite a rebound on Wall Street in early trading, as investors digested lacklustre government borrowing and retail sales data.

The FTSE 100 closed down 0.27%, settling at 7,694.73 points, while the FTSE 250 was 0.3% lower at 19,570.97 points.

In currency markets, sterling was last up 0.2% on the dollar, trading at $1.2664, while it weakened 0.13% against the euro to change hands at €1.1535.

"The strongest US GDP expansion since the fourth quarter of 2021, initial jobless claims unexpectedly holding at two-month lows and rapidly falling US Treasury yields gave US stock indices another boost," said IG senior market analyst Axel Rudolph.

"While they are back trading close to their recent record highs, European equity indices see a session in the red.

"Worse than expected UK retail sales put a dampener on the FTSE 100's advance after three straight days of gains."

Government borrowing tops forecasts, retail downturn deepens

In economic news, the UK government's borrowing exceeded expectations last month, according to fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics.

Public sector net borrowing, excluding public sector banks, reached £14.3bn, slightly below November 2022's figure of £15.2bn but surpassing consensus forecasts of £13bn.

It marked the fourth-highest November borrowing since records began in 1993.

Additionally, debt interest payments in November reached £7.7bn, surpassing all November records since 1997.

For the eight months leading up to November, public sector net borrowing excluding banks stood at £116.4bn, showing an increase of £24.4bn compared to the same period in the prior year and marking the second-highest financial year-to-November borrowing on record.

Ashley Webb, UK economist at Capital Economics, doubts that the higher-than-expected borrowing figures will prevent the Chancellor from embarking on a pre-election fiscal splash in the Spring Budget.

Webb said the recent drop in market interest rate expectations supported the view that interest rates would be lower in 2025 than the Office for Budget Responsibility predicted in November.

"As a result, we expect this to give the Chancellor more wiggle room to unveil a further pre-election splash at the Sprint Budget.

"But this would almost certainly be followed by hefty tax rises in 2025 after the election."

In the retail sector, the Confederation of British Industry reported a deepening downturn in December.

The retail sales balance fell to -32, down from -11 in the year to November, marking the eighth consecutive monthly decline.

Furthermore, expectations for sales in the upcoming month declined, with the balance dropping to -41 in December from -6 the previous month.

"The retail sector ended 2023 on a glum note, with the ongoing downturn in sales volumes deepening during the crucial holiday trading period," said CBI principal economist Martin Sartorius.

"Looking ahead, retailers are bracing themselves for a New Year's chill, as sales are set to fall at an even quicker pace next month.

"Strained household finances and higher interest rates continue to take a toll on consumer spending, suggesting that retailers will have to navigate a tough demand environment in the months to come."

Across the Atlantic, the US Commerce Department's release of third-quarter GDP figures indicated a downward revision from 5.2% to 4.9%, disappointing economists who had expected no change in the growth estimate.

On the labour front in the US, initial jobless claims increased by 2,000 to 205,000 in the week ended 16 December.

Despite the slight uptick, the figure remained near the previous week's two-month low and significantly below the consensus expectation of 215,000.

Hipgnosis in focus, Harbour Energy rockets on acquisition deal

On London's equity markets, Hipgnosis Songs Fund closed down 0.78% after it reported wider interim losses.

The troubled music rights owner also announced the suspension of dividends until at least the end of the financial year, citing the need to comply with loan covenants amidst a dispute with its investment adviser over asset valuations.

Cybersecurity firm Darktrace dropped 6.99%, with speculation arising that this decline could be related to Mike Lynch selling stock, potentially to fund his US fraud trial.

Insurer Admiral Group faced a 1.58% decrease after receiving a downgrade to 'hold' from 'buy' at Berenberg.

On the upside, Vodafone Group added 2.19% after reports that Swisscom was considering a potential offer for Vodafone's Italian business in the coming year.

BT Group also advanced, with a 0.28% gain, fuelled by reports that Saudi Telecom could be exploring an approach to Patrick Drahi, the company's largest shareholder, to discuss increasing its stake in the telecommunications company.

Harbour Energy surged 21.11% after announcing an agreement to acquire the upstream assets of German oil and gas producer Wintershall Dea for $11.2bn.

The acquisition would encompass Wintershall's upstream assets in various countries, excluding Russian assets, and include European carbon capture and storage (CCS) licences.

Cruise giant Carnival was ahead 3.94% after reporting record-breaking revenues of $21.6bn, marking an all-time high.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,694.73 -0.27%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,570.97 -0.30%

techMARK (TASX) 4,285.80 0.01%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Vodafone Group (VOD) 69.00p 2.25%

Melrose Industries (MRO) 566.60p 0.78%

Anglo American (AAL) 1,924.00p 0.63%

BAE Systems (BA.) 1,093.50p 0.60%

Pearson (PSON) 956.40p 0.59%

Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,071.00p 0.52%

Sage Group (SGE) 1,180.00p 0.51%

Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,198.00p 0.50%

Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,812.00p 0.50%

HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 622.50p 0.50%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,430.50p -4.19%

Ocado Group (OCDO) 757.20p -4.03%

United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,068.00p -2.95%

British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,284.50p -2.20%

Airtel Africa (AAF) 127.70p -1.62%

Severn Trent (SVT) 2,629.00p -1.61%

Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,785.00p -1.60%

Admiral Group (ADM) 2,670.00p -1.51%

SEGRO (SGRO) 894.60p -1.45%

Entain (ENT) 1,005.00p -1.33%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Harbour Energy (HBR) 295.50p 21.11%

Carnival (CCL) 1,377.00p 3.46%

Tullow Oil (TLW) 37.64p 2.56%

Future (FUTR) 761.50p 2.29%

Helios Towers (HTWS) 82.50p 2.16%

Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 240.00p 2.13%

RIT Capital Partners (RCP) 1,834.00p 1.89%

easyJet (EZJ) 517.20p 1.77%

Drax Group (DRX) 483.80p 1.77%

SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 64.00p 1.72%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Darktrace (DARK) 348.60p -7.31%

Tritax Eurobox (GBP) (EBOX) 59.70p -4.33%

Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 116.20p -3.97%

HGCapital Trust (HGT) 433.00p -3.46%

Britvic (BVIC) 844.00p -3.16%

Tyman (TYMN) 308.00p -2.99%

Just Group (JUST) 83.30p -2.91%

Trustpilot Group (TRST) 143.90p -2.84%

Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 184.60p -2.61%

Mitie Group (MTO) 99.10p -2.46%

More News
22 Mar 2024 08:53

LONDON MARKET OPEN: Phoenix Group leads FTSE 100 higher

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened higher on Friday, after a busy week of interest rate decisions across the globe.

Read more
22 Mar 2024 07:52

KKR Dark Aggregator sells 19.4m Darktrace shares in placing

(Sharecast News) - Jefferies said on Friday that KKR Dark Aggregator sold 19.4m shares in cybersecurity firm Darktrace in a placing.

Read more
22 Mar 2024 07:40

LONDON BRIEFING: UK retail sales slightly better than expected

(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are called to open slightly lower on Friday, as investors pause for breath after a busy week of interest rate decisions.

Read more
21 Mar 2024 19:05

KKR Dark Aggregator to sell 2.5% stake in Darktrace in placing

(Sharecast News) - Jefferies said on Thursday that KKR Dark Aggregator plans to sell a stake of around 2.5% in cybersecurity firm Darktrace in a placing to institutional investors.

Read more
21 Mar 2024 18:16

Darktrace investor KKR to sell GBP80 million worth of shares

(Alliance News) - Jefferies International Ltd on Thursday said an investor plans to sell shares in Darktrace PLC worth around GBP80 million.

Read more
21 Mar 2024 15:57

Director deals: Darktrace boss sells some shares

(Sharecast News) - Darktrace boss Poppy Gustafsson unloaded some of her holdings in the company as the share price hit a 52-week high.

Read more
19 Mar 2024 20:08

DIRECTOR DEALINGS: Darktrace strategy chief sells GBP4 million shares

(Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of share dealings by London-listed company directors and managers announced on Tuesday and not separately reported by Alliance News:

Read more
12 Mar 2024 16:17

London close: Stocks rise as UK wage growth moderates

(Sharecast News) - London markets closed with gains on Tuesday, buoyed by hopes for interest rate cuts following a modest increase in UK wage growth.

Read more
12 Mar 2024 09:29

LONDON BROKER RATINGS: UBS cuts abrdn price target but ups Darktrace's

(Alliance News) - The following London-listed shares received analyst recommendations Tuesday morning and Monday:

Read more
11 Mar 2024 16:51

LONDON MARKET CLOSE: Stocks mixed ahead of US inflation data

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London closed mixed Monday, as investors nervously look ahead to some key data from the UK and US, which could help shape the latest interest rate decisions.

Read more
11 Mar 2024 16:34

Deutsche Numis reiterates 'buy' rating on Darktrace

(Sharecast News) - Deutsche Numis reiterated its 'buy' recommendation and 520p price target on Darktrace on Monday as it said first-half profitability was "materially" ahead of expectations.

Read more
11 Mar 2024 14:48

London close: Stocks mixed as investors look to US inflation data

(Sharecast News) - London markets closed in a mixed state on Monday, reflecting a broader trend of cautious trading after a primarily weaker session in Asian markets overnight.

Read more
11 Mar 2024 12:05

LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Europe struggles after US tech stock woe

(Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 was lower going into Monday afternoon, as last week's sell-off in US tech shares hurt risk appetite in Europe, after spilling over in Tokyo also.

Read more
7 Mar 2024 11:07

Darktrace shares rise as interim profit multiplies

(Alliance News) - Darktrace PLC on Thursday said profit and revenue jumped in the first half of its financial year, and upped its full-year sales guidance as a result.

Read more
7 Mar 2024 09:32

Darktrace shares surge on 'strong' H1 results

(Sharecast News) - Cyber security business Darktrace shares surged on Thursday as the group detailed a "strong 1H financial performance".

Read more

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.

Quickpicks are a member only feature

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.