Cambridge Index falls 1.3%

The Cambridge Index declined 359.3 points or 1.3% to close at 27670.1, as five of the top ten Index heavyweights posted weekly losses to their share prices.

Cambridge Index 10 May 21

Johnson Matthey, up 0.7%, announced a further strategic development in the commercialisation of eLNO®, its portfolio of leading nickel rich advanced cathode materials. Also, the company announced that it has committed to be net zero by 2040.

Quixant, up 15.5%, in its AGM statement, announced that the firm witnessed a robust demand for its products across the business coupled with strong order intake.

Kier Group, up 9.9%, announced that it has appointed Sophie Timms as Corporate Affairs Director and Alpna Amar as Corporate Development Director, both effective from 1 May 2021.

Cambridge Cognition, up 7.4%, announced that its Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2020 and the Notice of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) have been published on its website.

GRC International Group, up 3.2%, in its trading update, announced that the group’s performance across all areas of its business has improved in the second half of FY21. Further, the group reported positive EBITDA and positive cash flow for the quarter, following only a small EBITDA loss in Q3. Moreover, cash balance stood at £0.2 million, ahead of expectations. The Group would release its preliminary results for FY21 later in the summer.

Feedback, down 1.9%, announced that it has appointed Anesh Patel as the Chief Financial Officer of its trading subsidiary, Feedback Medical Limited, with immediate effect.

Amino Technologies, down 1.8%, announced that it has submitted an application, through a wholly owned subsidiary, to acquire the trade and assets of MobiTV, Inc. and MobiTV Services Corporation, a US live and on-demand TV platform provider.

UK markets ended mostly lower last week. The Bank of England (BoE) raised its forecast for UK GDP growth to 7.25% in 2021, citing rapid progress in the country’s vaccine rollout programme. However, the central bank lowered its growth projection for 2022 to 5.75% from its previous estimate.

On the data front, Britain’s manufacturing activity grew at its fastest pace since 1994 in April, as lockdown restrictions eased, while the nation’s services PMI accelerated at its fastest pace in more than seven years in April, buoyed by the reopening of hospitality businesses and non-essential retailers. Additionally, UK’s construction activity expanded in April, amid improvement in civil engineering activity, commercial work and house building.

Separately, the BoE kept its key interest rate unchanged at 0.10% and reduced the pace of weekly government bond purchases to £3.4b. The FTSE techMARK 100 index lost 0.2% to end at 6691.1, while the FTSE AIM 100 index fell 2.4% to close at 6224. Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 index advanced 2.3% to settle at 7129.7.

US markets ended mixed in the previous week, as dismal US jobs data offset optimism over economic recovery. On the macro front, the US weekly jobless claims dropped to its lowest level in 14 months in the week ended 30 April 2021. However, the US non-farm payrolls rose far less than expected in April and the unemployment rate unexpectedly climbed in the same month. Additionally, the nation’s private sector employment increased less than anticipated in April. Moreover, the ISM manufacturing PMI unexpectedly fell in April, due to constraints in supply and labour, while the ISM services activity slowed in April, after hitting an all-time high in the previous month. Separately, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen indicated that US interest rates might need to be hiked to prevent the US economy from overheating. The DJIA index rose 2.7% to end at 34777.8, while the NASDAQ index lost 1.5% to close at 13752.

 



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