Cambridge Index falls 3.3%

The Cambridge Index declined 3.3% or 573.97 points to 16,808.4, as all but one of the top ten index heavyweights saw their share prices fall.

Deutsche Bank restated its “Hold” rating on ARM Holdings, down 3.8%, with a price target of 975p. Additionally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded its rating to a “Market Perform” with a target price 750p. Deutsche Bank restated its “Buy” rating on Johnson Matthey, down 3.2%, with a price objective of 3,650p. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed its “Buy” rating with a target price of 400p on DS Smith, down 4.5%.

Ubisense Group, up 6.8%, won a software order worth $1.2m from a large communications network operator. Frontier Developments’ share price recovered 6.6% from last week’s fall.  The company will commence rolling out the Premium Beta version of its upcoming ‘Elite: Dangerous’ game.

Shares of Abcam perked up 1.2%, after an independent antibody search engine CiteAb, revealed that the former’s weaker-than-expected earnings released at the start of March were a temporary feature. Canaccord Genuity upgraded the stock to a “Hold” rating and raised its price objective to 375p.

Dialight saw a small increase to its share price of 0.1%, after the company announced the launch of its new Class I Div 2-certified SafeSite Integrated LED Obstruction Lighting System for medium-intensity brightness.. N+1 Singer retained a “Buy” rating on Vernalis and lowered its target price to 42p.

Elektron Technology, down 8.3%, announced that it was considering a potential sale of its non-core assets while also exploring discussions to procure additional finance. However the company added that no talks had progressed to a definitive stage. It also announced the appointment of Andy Weatherstone to the permanent post of CFO with immediate effect. The Publican’s Morning Advertiser reported that talks between Greene King, down 2.1%, and private equity group, May Capital, failed regarding the proposed sale of approximately 300-strong tented pub package. Beaufort Securities reiterated its “Buy” rating and JPMorgan Chase lowered its price objective to 940p with a “Neutral” rating.

Aveva Group lost 2.8% despite Atkins selecting AVEVA Everything3D and AVEVA Laser Modeller software to support its Lean Construction processes. CSR, down 3.5%, announced that Alps Electric would be integrating CSR’s aptX® codec in its automotive connectivity modules.

Kier Group, down 2.2%, announced that it has bought the remaining 41.5% share of Justice Support Services Holdings from Uberior Infrastructure Investments in a deal worth £4m. Quixant, down 0.6%, raised a further £25m through the placing of 17.9m existing shares by company Directors and others connected to the company.

UK markets fell in the past week, as Ukrainian tensions escalated. The FTSE 100 index reduced 2%, to 6,561.7, while the FTSE techMARK 100 Index slipped 3.8% to 3,066.8. The FTSE AIM 100 Index lost 3.3% to 3,720.7.

Markets in the US finished lower, as an outbreak of fresh tensions between Russia and Ukraine overshadowed Fed meeting minutes, which were more dovish than expected. The DJIA index fell 2.4%, to close at 16,026.8 and the NASDAQ index lost 3.1%, to settle at 3,999.7.


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