Johnson Matthey, down 4.8%, announced that it has completed the sale of its Diagnostic Services business on 29 September 2023 in accordance with the terms of the sale agreement entered into between JM and Sullivan Street Partners for £55m.
Kier Group, down 5.2%, announced that its Annual General Meeting (AGM) would be held at the offices of Linklaters LLP, One Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8HQ on 16 November 2023 at 10.00 am.
Sareum Holdings, unchanged at 80.0p, today, in its audited financial results for the year ended 30 June 2023, announced that it reported nil revenues during the period. Loss before tax widened to £4.03m from £2.58m recorded in the previous year. Cash balance stood at £1.0m as at 30 June 2023 (cash of £2.9m as at 31 December 2022 and £4.3m as at 30 June 2022).
Oracle Power, down 62.5%, announced that it would raise gross proceeds of £350,000 through a placing of 1,000,000,000 new ordinary shares at a price of 0.035p per share. The net proceeds of the placing would be used to support the advancement of the company's green hydrogen project through the joint venture with His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum (through his wholly owned company, Kaheel Energy Limited).
Quartix Technologies, down 23.8%, in its trading update, announced that it has made positive progress in annualised recurring revenues of the fleet subscription base. Additionally, the company's subscription base has grown by 13.0% on a yearly basis. New units installed in the first 9 months of the year have increased by 4.3% compared with the same period in 2022. Moreover, Growth in France over the past year has been very pleasing, but progress in the UK and USA has been disappointing. The company would consider the payment of a reduced ordinary dividend at year end.
CyanConnode Holdings, down 6.7%, in its trading update for the six-month period ended 30 September 2023, announced that it has witnessed 4.3 times higher sales turnover compared with 1H FY 2023. Additionally, the company expects revenues for the full financial year ended 31 March 2024 to be in line with market expectations.
UK markets ended lower last week, amid worries over higher interest rates. On the macro front, UK’s Nationwide housing prices dropped in September, as higher interest rates continued to dent affordability, while the nation’s Halifax house prices fell for a sixth consecutive month in September. Additionally, UK’s construction PMI declined to its lowest level since 2020 in September. Meanwhile, UK’s manufacturing climbed in September, while the services PMI fell less-than-expected in the same month. The FTSE 100 index declined 1.5% to settle at 7,494.6, while the FTSE AIM 100 index fell 4.7% to close at 3,288.8. Also, the FTSE techMARK 100 index lost 5.1% to end at 5,988.0
US markets ended mixed in the previous week. On the data front, the US ISM manufacturing sector advanced to its highest level since November 2022 in September, driven by an increase in production, while the nation’s factory orders rebounded more than expected in August. Moreover, the US trade deficit narrowed in August. Additionally, the US JOLTS job openings unexpectedly rose in August, while the nation’s non-farm payrolls climbed by the most in eight months in September. However, the ADP employment advanced less than expected in September, while the nation’s unemployment remained steady at an 18-month high in September. The DJIA index fell 0.3% to end at 33,407.6, while the NASDAQ index gained 1.6% to close at 13,431.3.
