(Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Monday.
----------
FTSE 100 - LOSERS
----------
International Consolidated Airlines, down 12%. Travel stocks were lower as fears gathered that the UK could face another nation-wide lockdown. In a televised briefing on Monday, Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, will say the country faces a "very challenging winter", with the current trend heading in "the wrong direction". During a series of broadcast interviews over the weekend, Health Secretary Matt Hancock refused to rule out a second national lockdown in England, if people fail to follow the social distancing rules. Among the measures being considered by ministers is a temporary two-week "circuit break", with tighter restrictions across England in an attempt to break the chain of transmission.
----------
Rolls-Royce Holdings, down 8.7%. The jet engine maker said it is evaluating the "merits" of raising GBP2.5 billion via a share issue to "enhance balance sheet resilience and strength". The London-based company, in response to media reports, said: "We continue to review all funding options to enhance balance sheet resilience and strength. Amongst other options, we are evaluating the merits of raising equity of up to GBP2.5 billion, through a variety of structures including a rights issue and potentially other forms of equity issuance. Our review also includes new debt issuance." "No final decisions have been taken as to whether or when to proceed with any of these options or as to the precise amount that may be raised," Rolls-Royce added. The Financial Times, citing three people with direct knowledge of the matter, had reported on Sunday that Rolls-Royce was in talks with sovereign wealth funds, including Singapore's GIC, to raise GBP2.5 billion in October.
----------
HSBC, down 5.2%. The lender was lower on fears it could be added to a Chinese list of firms deemed a threat to national security and following news it had been accused of allowing fraudulent activity to go unpunished, AFP reported. HSBC shares had dropped to HKD29.60 at one point on Monday in Hong Kong – a level not seen since mid-1995 – as investors fret over its ability to continue doing business in China and Hong Kong, which make up a crucial portion of its growth. The sell-off came after the Global Times, a state-run English tabloid in China, reported the bank could be one of the first firms to be named on Beijing's "unreliable entity list" as part of a tit-for-tat stand-off with several western countries. The report pointed to HSBC's participation in Washington's investigation of Huawei and the arrest of its chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou in Canada. Meanwhile, according to an international journalism investigation published Sunday, massive sums of allegedly dirty money have flowed for years through some of the world's largest banking institutions, including HSBC and Standard Chartered. Shares in Standard Chartered were down 4.8% in London.
----------
FTSE 250 - LOSERS
----------
Network International, down 26%. The Middle East-focused payment solutions provider noted its share price fall on Monday, and said it is not aware of any reason behind it. The trend of improving volumes in directly acquired domestic total processed volumes reported for July has continued in August and early September, it added. Since last Tuesday, the company has lost 50% in value and year-to-date the shares are down 69%.
----------
OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
----------
Superdry, down 10%. The clothing retailer posted a drop in annual revenue and a deeper loss. Revenue for the financial year that ended April 25 fell 19% to GBP704.4 million, with the firm's pretax loss deepening to GBP166.9 million from GBP89.3 million. The sales fall reflected a planned move away from "persistent discounting", and also the hit from Covid-19 in the fourth quarter, with its entire store estate closed from March 22 to the financial year-end. Current trading continues to be disrupted, the firm noted, but has improved from the end of the financial year. Superdry said 95% of its store estate and 98% of franchises now have re-opened since lockdown. "While our underlying profit has been impacted by trading performance during the year, including Covid-19 related store closures, I am particularly pleased by how strongly e-commerce has performed, with FY21 first quarter revenues nearly doubling year-on-year," said Julian Dunkerton, founder & chief executive.
----------
By Lucy Heming;Â lucyheming@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
International Airlines (IAG)
HSBC Holdings (HSBA)
Rolls-Royce (RR.)
Superdry (SDRY)
Network International (NETW)