Bango, up 27.2%, announced that it has bought NTT Docomo including the migration of customers to the Bango Platform, from operating activities and existing cash, worth €4m.
Quixant, up 7.2%, announced that it has received its first mass production order worth $4m for its new range of turnkey gaming cabinet products. Separately, the company announced that it expects to release its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2022 on 06 September 2022.
Cambridge Cognition Holdings, up 5.2%, announced that it has been awarded a £2.2m contract providing cognitive assessments and electronic diaries for a neurodegenerative disease trial.
Kier Group, up 0.4%, announced that it has signed a contract with Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust and East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust to deliver a new integrated health hub for people living in Bakewell and the Derbyshire Dales for £10.5m.
Oracle Power, down 6.0%, announced that the Directorate of Alternative Energy of the Government of Sindh has approved the Letter of Intent (LOI) for the development of a 1,200MW hybrid solar/wind, green hydrogen/power project in Pakistan, by its joint venture company,
Oracle Energy Limited. 1Spatial, down 6.0%, announced that it has entered into a VertiGIS Products call-off agreement with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The transaction would enable Defra and its Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs) to license VertiGIS products and procure VertiGIS products implementation services through the enterprise licence agreement on G-Cloud 12.
Xaar, down 2.4%, announced that it would release its interim results for the six months ended 31 July 2022 on 20 September 2022. GRC International Group, down 2.0%, in its final results for the year ended 31 March 2022, announced that revenues rose to £13.9m from £11.8m recorded in the previous year. Loss before tax narrowed to £1.0m from £2.8m. The Board is not proposing a dividend in respect of the year ending 31 March 2022. Aferian, down 0.8%, announced that it has signed a partnership deal with Swisscom Broadcast.
UK markets closed lower last week, as warnings of even higher inflation stoked worries of a deep recession in the country. On the data front, UK’s Nationwide house prices climbed at a faster pace in August, amid rise in energy bills and higher interest rates, while the nation’s mortgage approvals unexpectedly advanced in July. Additionally, UK’s BRC shop price index advanced in the 12 months to July, driven by surge in food prices. Meanwhile, UK’s manufacturing PMI dropped to its lowest level since May 2020 in August. The FTSE 100 index declined 2% to settle at 7,281.2, while the FTSE AIM 100 index fell 3.9% to close at 4,129.7. Additionally, the FTSE techMARK 100 index lost 1.5% to end at 6,058.6.
US markets ended lower in the previous week, amid concerns over aggressive interest rate hikes and rising inflation and its impact on economic growth. On the macro front, the US non-farm payrolls climbed more than expected in August, reflecting job hiring in professional, business services, healthcare, and retail sectors, while the nation’s the JOLTS job openings unexpectedly advanced in July. Moreover, the US initial jobless claims unexpectedly declined to a 2-month low for a third consecutive week in the week ended 26 August 2022, suggesting higher demand for labour. Furthermore, the US consumer confidence index advanced to its highest level since May in August. On the flipside, the US private sector employment rose less than anticipated in August, while the nation’s unemployment rate advanced in August. Additionally, US factory orders declined for the first time in 10 months in July, while the manufacturing PMI fell to its lowest level since July 2020 in August. The DJIA index fell 2.4% to end at 31,318.4, while the NASDAQ index lost 3.2% to close at 11,630.9.
