DS Smith, up 3.8%, along with E.ON announced a new state-of-the-art combined heat and power (CHP) plant at its paper mill in Kent, the largest mill for recycled papers in the UK.
Johnson Matthey, up 0.8%, announced the sale of Diagnostic Services to Sullivan Street Partners for a cash consideration of £55m. The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2023.
Darktrace, up 9.0%, announced that it has appointed Elaine Bucknor as Non-Executive Director, with effect from 01 June 2023.
Sareum, up 25.0%, announced that it has received approval for its application to start Phase 1 clinical studies on SDC-1801 in Australia.
Dialight, up 2.3%, announced that it has launched the ProSite High Mast, an extension of its highly popular ProSite Floodlight series. Separately, the company unveiled its industry leading seven-year warranty for Obstruction Lighting Solutions.
Cambridge Cognition, down 4.1%, in its preliminary audited results for the year ended 31 December 2022, announced that revenues rose to £12.61m from £10.09m recorded in the previous year. Loss before tax stood at £0.62m compared to a profit of £0.25m. On the outlook front, the company expects low double digit revenue growth in 2023 and a return to profitability in the second half of 2024 and growth in profitability thereafter.
Aferian, unchanged at 38.0p, announced that its AGM would be held at the offices of FTI Consulting, 200 Aldersgate, London, EC1A 4HD on 31 May 2023.
UK markets ended lower last week, after the Bank of England (BoE) plans to raise its key interest rate. On the macro front, UK’s services sector expanded at its fastest pace in a year in April, boosted by new orders, while the Nationwide house prices advanced for the first time in eight months in April. Additionally, UK’s mortgage approvals for house purchases climbed to a 5-month high in March, while the nation’s construction PMI advanced in April. Meanwhile, UK’s manufacturing PMI dropped to a three-month low in April. The FTSE 100 index declined 1.2% to settle at 7,778.4, while the FTSE AIM 100 index fell 0.3% to close at 3,968.9. Also, the FTSE techMARK 100 index lost 0.4% to end at 6,873.9.
US markets ended mixed in the previous week. On the macro front, the US manufacturing PMI improved in April, amid rebound in new orders and employment, while the nation’s factory orders climbed in March, driven by robust demand for aircraft. Additionally, the US ISM services PMI rose in April, amid an increase in new orders and improved supply chain. Further, the US nonfarm payrolls climbed more than expected in April, while the ADP employment advanced in April. On the other hand, the US JOLTS job openings dropped to its lowest level in nearly two years in March, while the nation’s initial jobless claims rose by the most in six weeks in the week ended 28 April, amid higher borrowing costs. Separately, the US Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 5.25%, as widely expected, and signalled a pause in further rate hikes. The DJIA index fell 1.2% to end at 33,674.4, while the NASDAQ index gained 0.1% to close at 12,235.4.
