Johnson Matthey, up 6.0%, announced that its Chief Financial Officer, Stephen Oxley has decided to resign from his role in 2025 to pursue another opportunity. Stephen will continue with his existing responsibilities and will step down from the board by no later than 31 March 2025.
1Spatial, up 5.9%, in its AGM statement and trading update, announced that it expects its trading performance for the full year to be in line with expectations. It continues to make progress with its innovative 1Streetworks SaaS offering.
Checkit up 4.2%, announced that it has signed a new contract with an integrated energy company to provide real-time operations management capabilities to 150 additional franchisees in the UK.
Gaming Realms, up 1.9%, announced that it has signed a partnership contract with hardrockcasino.nl to offer a selection of its popular games to hardrockcasino.nl players, including recent releases such as Slingo Gold Cash Freespins and Slingo Capital Gains, along with well-loved classics like Slingo Centurion.
Quartix Technologies, unchanged at 152.5p, today, in its trading update, announced that it expects to report revenue, adjusted EBITDA, pre-tax profit and free cash flow for the period of £16.0m, £2.6m, £2.6m, and £0.9m, respectively. The company's net cash balance for the period-end stood at £2.6m. The company would release its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2024 on 29 July 2024.
Sareum Holdings, down 24.7%, announced that it has received positive topline data from its Phase 1a clinical trial of SDC-1801, a dual TYK2/JAK1 kinase inhibitor being developed as a potential new therapeutic for a range of autoimmune diseases.
Aferian, down 10.0%, announced that its group CFO and COO, Mark Carlisle has been appointed as a Group CEO.
Feedback, down 6.8%, announced that it has secured a new contract with Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (QVH) to provide its Bleepa Community Diagnostics Centre (CDC) solution.
Creightons, down 6.7%, today, announced that it expects to release its audited preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2024 on 18 July 2024.
UK markets closed higher last week, as Britain’s general election majority win by the Labour Party raised hopes that the outcome will bring a boost to the economy. On the macro front, the UK services PMI dropped less than expected in June, while the Nationwide housing prices rose for a second month in June. Meanwhile, the UK manufacturing PMI unexpectedly declined in June. Moreover, the UK Halifax house prices unexpectedly fell in June, while the nation’s BRC shop price inflation rose at its slowest pace since late 2021 in June. The FTSE 100 index advanced 0.5% to settle at 8,203.9, while the FTSE AIM 100 index rose 1.5% to close at 3,733.3. Also, the FTSE techMARK 100 index gained 1.7% to end at 6,958.9.
US markets ended higher in the previous week, amid renewed optimism surrounding interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve (Fed). On the data front, the US nonfarm payrolls climbed more than anticipated in June, while the nation’s JOLTS job openings unexpectedly advanced in May. Meanwhile, the US ISM manufacturing PMI dropped for a third straight month in June, while the nation’s ISM services PMI fell to a four-year low in June, amid a sharp decline in orders. Additionally, the US factory orders unexpectedly fell in May. Moreover, the US ADP employment rose less than expected in June, while the nation’s unemployment rate rose for the third straight month in June. Also, the US weekly jobless claims advanced more than expected in the week ended 28 June 2024. Separately, the US FOMC minutes indicated that officials are still not prepared to begin cutting interest rates. The DJIA index rose 0.7% to end at 39,375.9, while the NASDAQ index gained 3.5% to close at 18,352.8.
