Frontier Developments, down 8.0%, announced that it has appointed Ilse Howling as a Non-Executive Director, with immediate effect. Separately, the company announced that Jurassic World Evolution 2: Camp Cretaceous Dinosaur Pack, will be available from 8 March 2022 on PC via Steam, Epic Games Store and GeForce Now, PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation®4 and Xbox One for a suggested retail price of £7.99/$9.99/€9.99.
Abcam, up 2.8%, announced that it would publish its results for the 12-and 18-month periods ended 31 December 2021 on 14 March 2022, following the change of year end to 31 December.
Xaar, down 8.4%, announced that it has acquired Megnajet Ltd and Technomation Ltd, whose businesses trade together under the name of Megnajet. The initial cash consideration for the acquisition of Megnajet Ltd comprises £1.8m, with an additional £0.2m deferred consideration to be paid in two years' time.
Oracle Power, down 6.1%, today announced that it has successfully completed its maiden drill programme at its 100% owned Jundee East Gold Project, located in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia.
1Spatial, down 4.7%, in its trading update for the financial year ended 31 January 2022, announced that it expects to deliver further progress in key financial metrics, due to a robust performance in the second half of the year. Revenue for the year is expected to exceed £26.4m (FY 2021: £24.6m), with double digit growth in recurring revenue year on year. Bango, down 1.6%, announced that it has begun trading in the US on OTC Markets Group's OTCQX Best Market (OTCQX), under the ticker symbol BGOPF.
Quartix Holdings, down 1.3%, in its results for the year ended 31 December 2021, announced that revenues slightly dropped to £25.51m from £25.84m recorded in the previous year. Profit before tax narrowed to £5.29m from £5.66m. The board has proposed a final dividend of 7.00p per share (2020: 17.70p).
UK markets ended lower last week, amid rising geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine. On the data front, UK’s manufacturing PMI climbed to a 3-month high in February, amid easing of global supply chain pressures and stronger domestic demand, while the nation’s services sector activity expanded at its fastest pace in 8-months in February, as businesses recovered from the Omicron wave. Additionally, the BRC retail prices rose in January, while UK’s house prices climbed in February, registering its highest reading in 6-months, amid robust demand. Moreover, Britain’s construction sector grew at its fastest pace since mid-2021 in February. The FTSE 100 index declined 6.7% to settle at 6,987.1, while the FTSE AIM 100 index fell 6.3% to close at 4,639.7. Meanwhile, the FTSE techMARK 100 index lost 5.9% to end at 5,870.0.
US markets ended weaker in the previous week, amid ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine. On the macro front, the US ISM manufacturing PMIs climbed more than expected in February, as worries over Omicron variant faded, while the nation’s construction spending advanced in January. Additionally, the US ADP employment rose by more than expected in February, while the nation’s weekly jobless claims dropped more than expected in the week ended 25 March 2022. Moreover, US nonfarm payrolls reported its largest monthly rise since July 2021 in February, while the region’s unemployment rate fell in February. Additionally, factory orders grew more than expected in January. Meanwhile, the ISM services PMI declined to a one-year low in February. Separately, US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, in his testimony, indicated that rates would likely be raised by only 25 basis points this month, easing concerns over aggressive rate hikes. The DJIA index fell 1.3% to end at 33,614.8, while the NASDAQ index lost 2.8% to close at 13,313.4.