RE: Even The Times Are At It!!1 Feb 2024 07:05
Wednesday January 31 2024, 6.45pm GMT, The Times
The fortunes of everyone from households to businesses to governments have closely tracked the rise, and now fall, in gas prices. That applies, too, to Harbour Energy, the North Sea’s biggest oil and gas producer, which suffered something of a sinking feeling as investors revealed their fears that oversupply will continue to drive prices lower.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs reckon that “beyond this winter, only one more winter could be tight before oversupply drives further downside”. They expect global liquefied natural gas capacity to increase by 40 per cent by 2027.
This doesn’t bode well for Harbour Energy, according to Michele Della Vigna, of Goldman, who noted that the FTSE 250 company had the highest standalone European gas exposure among its peers and, given its recent share price performance, was no longer trading at a discount valuation. As such, the investment bank saw every reason to cut its “buy” recommendation to “sell”, sending Harbour’s shares 16p, or 5.4 per cent, lower to 278¾p.
It was a subdued day on the main market as investors fretted ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s latest interest decision. The FTSE 100 ended the day 35.74 points, or 0.5 per cent, lower at 7,630.57. That meant the index was down 1.3 per cent over January, its biggest monthly fall since October. The more UK-focused FTSE 250, which lost 1.7 per cent over the month, was little-changed, up a mere 8.45 points at 19,357.95.
One drag on the senior index was WPP, off 24¼p, or 3 per cent, at 771½ after analysts at UBS said they needed to wait until next year to see how the advertising group was progressing with its plans to improve margins and grow its top-line.
It was a tough day for the retailers after H&M, the Swedish fashion powerhouse, said its sales had continued to fall over the key Christmas trading period. Marks & Spencer fell by 7½p, or 2.9 per cent, to 247¼p; Associated British Foods, the owner of Primark, lost 40p, or 1.7 per cent, to £23.41; and JD Sports Fashion closed down 2p, or 1.7 per cent, at 117p.
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