Johnson Matthey, down 0.7%, announced that it has signed a partnership contract with Bosch for development of zero-emission hydrogen technology.
Raspberry PI Holdings, down 3.5%, announced that Jefferies downgraded its rating on the stock to ‘Hold’ from ‘Buy’.
Kier Group, down 0.3%, announced that it has signed a major construction contract worth £683.8mn with the Scottish Government to build HMP Glasgow at Provanmill in the city, replacing Scotland’s largest prison, the 143-year-old HMP Barlinnie.
Gaming Realms, up 13.7%, in its pre-close trading update for the full year to 31 December 2024, announced that it expects FY24 revenue of around £28.5mn, up 22% against the prior year, and adjusted EBITDA of £13mn, up 30% against FY23 and in line with market expectations. This strong performance was driven primarily by content licensing, supported by growth across all major markets. Additionally, its early trading in 2025 has been encouraging, with the ongoing demand for the Slingo portfolio. The company remains focused on continued product innovation to drive future growth with its partners and new market launches.
Cambridge Cognition, up 1.1%, announced that it has appointed Jonathan (Jon) Kempster as an independent Non-Executive Director of the company, with immediate effect.
Creightons, unchanged at 30.0p, announced that it plans to apply for the admission of its issued ordinary shares to trading on AIM (AIM admission) under AIM's streamlined admission process for companies that have had their securities traded on the Official List, known as the 'AIM Designated Market' route, and the company's intention to apply to cancel the admission of the ordinary shares to listing on the equity shares (commercial companies) category of the official list and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities (delisting), such delisting and AIM admission to take effect simultaneously.
UK markets ended mostly higher last week, as the Bank of England (BoE) cuts its key interest rate to 4.50%. On the data front, manufacturing PMI rose more than expected in January. Also, the UK Halifax house prices rose more than expected in January, amid a rise in buyer demand. Meanwhile, the UK services PMI unexpectedly declined in January. Separately, the Bank of England (BoE) reduced its key interest rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 4.50% and indicated that the central bank expects to make further rate cuts this year, as it downgraded the UK growth forecast for 2025. The FTSE 100 index advanced 0.3% to settle at 8,700.5, while the FTSE AIM 100 index rose 0.2% to close at 3,462.1. Meanwhile, the FTSE techMARK 100 index lost 3.4% to end at 6,522.0.
US markets ended lower in the previous week, amid uncertainty over US tariffs and after weaker-than-expected US jobs data. On the macro front, the US factory orders dropped more than expected in December, weighed down by a drop in bookings for civilian aircraft, while the nation’s ISM services PMI unexpectedly fell in January. Moreover, the US JOLTS job openings declined by the most in 14 months in December, while the nation’s weekly jobless claims rose more than expected in the week ended 31 January 2025. Also, the US nonfarm payrolls rose less than expected in January. Meanwhile, the US ISM manufacturing PMI expanded more than anticipated in January. Also, the US ADP employment climbed more than anticipated in January, while the unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped in January. The DJIA index fell 0.5% to end at 44,303.4, while the NASDAQ index lost 0.5% to close at 19,523.4.
