Credit Suisse reaffirmed its “Outperform” rating on Johnson Matthey, up 1.3%.
Abcam, up 1.4%, announced that it has appointed Giles Kerr as a Non-Executive Director with immediate effect.
Tristel, up 10.2%, announced that it anticipates profit before tax for the half year ended 31 December 2018 to rise by at least 10% to £2.2m, despite costs arising from its recent acquisition of the Ecomed Group.
RhythmOne, up 7.2%, announced in its interim results for six months ended 30 September 2018 that revenues surged 53% to $175.5m from $114.5m reported in the same period last year. Its loss before tax narrowed to $1.6m from $8.2m, while basic loss per share declined to 2.8c from 16.6c. The company anticipates FY2019 to continue to deliver annual revenue growth, supported by its programmatic capabilities.
Bango, up 2.2%, announced the launch of its new product Bango Marketplace to target the high-end customers in order to aid the user quantity and profits for app developers and open new revenue streams for mobile operators.
Marshall Motor Holdings, down 0.6%, announced that Professor Richard Parry-Jones has been elected as its new Non-Executive Chairman with effect from 1 January 2019.
Science Group, down 6%, announced in its trading update for the 11 months ended 30 November 2018, that trading during the period remained in line with the Board’s forecasts. It also announced the termination of its Formal Sale Process due to ongoing Brexit scepticism and current market volatility.
Netcall, down 9.7%, announced in its AGM statement that it witnessed a jump in bookings in the first half of the current financial year, amid rising demand for its Low-code platform. Meanwhile, the Board expects full-year revenues to be weighted more towards the second half.
UK markets closed mostly higher last week, supported by a weaker Pound. British average weekly earnings rose to a decade high level in the three months ended October, while the unemployment rate remained steady in the same period. The UK’s GDP growth slowed in the August-October period, while the manufacturing production unexpectedly slid in October. Additionally, Britain’s trade deficit widened in October, whereas the industrial production dropped in the same month. The FTSE 100 index advanced 1% to settle at 6845.2, while the FTSE AIM 100 index fell 1% to close at 4605.3. Meanwhile, the FTSE techMARK 100 index gained 0.2% to end at 4385.2.
US markets ended lower in the previous week, amid ongoing concerns over slowdown in global growth following weak economic data from China and Europe. The US manufacturing PMI fell to a 13-month low level in December, while services sector activity declined to its lowest level in 11 months in the same month. On the other hand, the US consumer prices remained flat in November, while the nation’s advance retail sales climbed higher than anticipated in November. The DJIA index fell 1.2% to end at 24100.5, while the NASDAQ index lost 0.8% to close at 6910.7.