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LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices midday Tuesday.
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FTSE 100 - WINNERS
Fresnillo, up 1.1%, and Randgold Resources, up 0.8%. The mining companies are benefiting from a sharp rise in the price of gold, with the precious metal currently trading close to a two-week high at USD1,312.35 per ounce. "Gold has risen partly due to the weaker US dollar in response to Friday's somewhat disappointing (US) jobs report," says Fawad Razaqzada, technical analyst at Forex.com. "On top of this, the physical demand for gold remains solid, particularly in China, and there is the possibility that the new Indian government may reduce the import restrictions on precious metals now that the country?s trade deficit has been narrowed to more manageable levels," he says. The price of silver also has increased, currently trading at USD20.089 per ounce.
ARM Holdings, up 0.6%. The technology company in one of just a few blue-chip risers after Bernstein raised its rating to Market-Perform, from Underperform. The company was one of the biggest losers on Monday, closing down 2.4%, after the tech-stock-heavy NASDAQ Composite fell sharply Friday and Monday.
Antofagasta, up 0.4%. The mining company's chief executive told Reuters on Monday that, despite the market for copper facing its first supply glut in four years, the price of copper may have found a bottom. Chief Executive Diego Hernandez said the worst of the worries about the implications of a Chinese economic slowdown for copper prices may have passed. The news comes as copper prices fell to three-and-a-half-year lows, according to Reuters, after a bond default by a Chinese company increased fears about credit problems in the world's second biggest economy. "We think the Chinese economy is fairly solid," Hernandez said. "It may have some problems, but they're minor."
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
Sports Direct International, down 7.6%. The company said that MASH Holdings Ltd, which is owned by Sports Direct founder and deputy Chairman Mike Ashley, had disposed of 24 million ordinary shares, representing a 4% holding in the firm. The shares were sold at 850 pence per share, resulting in a transaction worth GBP204 million. Shares in the company are currently quoted at 833.00p.
BT Group, down 2.8%. The telecommunications company has poached British Sky Broadcasting executive Delia Bushell to head up its television division, The Guardian reported late Monday. The appointment comes as rivalry between the two companies has heated up over football rights since the launch of BT's new sports service, a rival to BSkyB's established sports offerings.
Burberry, down 2.5%. The luxury fashion retailer is once again among the biggest fallers in the blue-chip index after Barclays cut its price target to 1,550.00 pence, from 1,700.00p. The fall follows a 2% decline on Monday after Berenberg downgraded the company to Hold, from Buy, and lowered its price target to 1,500.00 pence from 1,660.00p.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
Polymetal International, up 1%. The group is another miner benefiting from a sharp increase in the price of gold and silver.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
Synthomer, down 5.7%. The company is the biggest faller in the mid-cap index after JPMorgan downgraded it to Underweight, from Neutral, lowering its price target to 230.00 pence, from 260.00p.
Hikma Pharmaceuticals, down 4.3%. UBS has downgraded Hikma to Neutral from Buy, saying that it is "time to take a pause and breath" as the company closes in on UBS's 1,700.00 pence price target. With the stock trading near the price target and no reason to increase expectations in the short term, UBS analyst Guillaume van Renterghem believes that the stock could now be "range bound".
Ferrexpo, down 2.7%. The iron ore producer, which operates solely in Ukraine, said it increased its proportion of higher grades and pellet production from both its own ore and from third party materials in the first quarter of 2014. However, while production has yet to be affected by the crisis in Ukraine, Shore Capital expects events in the country to continue to weigh on the group's share price. "We reiterate our view that the on-going crisis can be expected to weigh on the share price until there are clear indications of resolution, even if production continues to remain unaffected," says Yuen Low, an analyst at the brokerage.
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AIM ALL-SHARE - WINNERS
Legendary Investments, up 33%. The company has increased its stake in investee company Virtual Stock Holdings Ltd, which raised GBP525,000 through an oversubscribed equity issuance to accelerate its growth in the retail sector after recent contract wins and also to build opportunities in other sectors. It said the transaction places a GBP25.4 million post money value on VSHL. Legendary acquired a 2.5% stake and a warrant for a further 2.5% stake in VSHL in October 2012 for GBP53,000, and Legendary has now negotiated further warrants over new shares and options over 1.2% of the fully diluted equity of VSHL, with an exercise price per share of the placing price. In aggregate, Legendary's equity, warrant and option interest in VSHL has risen to 5.6%, from 5.0%.
Clontarf Energy, up 27%, and Petrel Resources, up 7.2%. The oil exploration companies' shares have risen sharply after the High Court of Ghana granted their application for an interlocutory injunction and also an interim order to protect its property rights at the Ghana Tano 2A Block. The companies said that the interlocutory injunction had been needed after reports that there had been a 'ratification' of a rival application that might overlap with a portion of the block. The companies are currently awaiting ratification on the Tano 2A Petroleum Agreement from the Ghanian Cabinet and Parliament. Clontarf has a 60% interest in the Tano 2A block, while Petrel has a 30% interest.
Rethink Group, up 20%. The recruiter said it swung to a full-year pretax profit, driven by increased revenue and lower administrative costs. It said it made a GBP830,000 pretax profit in 2013, compared with a GBP757,000 pretax loss a year earlier, as revenue increased by 28% to GBP111.7 million, while administrative expenses fell to GBP18.2 million from GBP18.7 million. Excluding restructuring costs, which Rethink said are unlikely to recur, Rethink would have swung to a GBP1.5 million pretax profit, compared with a GBP490,000 pretax loss.
SnackTime, up 15%. The group said it expects its results for its recent financial year to be in line with market expectations. It said it expects sales to be approximately GBP19.0 million, and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to be about GBP1.3 million. In addition, SnackTime expects the exceptional costs related to its reorganisation, which it said is now "very nearly complete", to be about GBP400,000, in line with the estimate it gave in November.
Oilex, up 11%. The oil and gas development and production company has moved closer to production at its Cambay-77H well in India after successfully completing setting and cementing its next casing at roughly 1,653 measured depth. It said the casing was set in a suitable formation to ensure well integrity whilst the company drills through a highly pressured target reservoir section. It completed a final stress test of its rig systems at the well prior to setting the casing and found that the condition of the wellbore was very good.
SKIL Ports & Logistics, up 7.5%. The company said it has closed a syndicated debt facility that will fund the building of its ports and logistics facility in Karanja, NaviMumbai, India. It said the INR4.80 billion facility has been provided by four Indian public sector banks for a ten-year term, with interest payable at the banks' base rates, plus a range of 3.0% to 3.55% a year.
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AIM ALL-SHARE - LOSERS
Sterling Energy, off 21%. The oil and gas exploration and production company said its Bamboo-1 well at the Ntem Concession, offshore Cameroon, reached total depth and failed to find commercial levels of oil and gas. It said the well, the first to be drilled on the site, reached a total depth of 4,747 metres and, after analysis of the data, found no commercial hydrocarbons and was plugged and abandoned.
NetPlay TV, down 8.6%. The interactive gaming company is a big loser despite the news that it raised its total dividend for 2013 and said pretax profit increased thanks to new customer agreements and increasing player numbers. It posted a pretax profit of GBP4.2 million in 2013, up from GBP3.1 million in 2012, as revenue rose to GBP28.5 million from GBP21.8 million, although this was somewhat offset by higher operating expenses and marketing expenses. It lifted its final dividend by 42% to 0.32 pence per share from 0.225p a year before, increasing its total dividend for 2013 by 33% to 0.50p from 0.375p in 2012.
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By James Kemp; jameskemp@alliancenews.com; @jamespkemp
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