Shares of ARM Holdings fell 3.3%, after its key US peer, AMD, issued a profit warning for its third quarter. Johnson Matthey, down 4.1%, was affected by a fall in platinum prices and negative broker reviews, with Morgan Stanley reiterating an “Underweight” rating and BOA Merrill Lynch slashing its target price to 2,400p from 2,450p.
Greene King fell 4.2%, despite announcing the appointment of Lynne Weedall as a Non Executive Director of the company with effect from 11 October 2012. DS Smith, up 6.6%, proved to be the lone bright spot amongst the index heavyweights, helped by some favourable broker recommendations. The company, in its update regarding its integration with SCA Packaging, announced that the cost synergies previously expected to be about €75m are now expected to reach €100m.
Bango attracted further favourable comment and surged 12.6%, emerging as the top gainer in the Cambridge Index. Sepura, up 2.2%, announced that its first half performance was in line with market expectations. The company said that it would announce its interim results for the six months ended 28 September 2012 on 22 November 2012.
HiWave Technologies fell 34.5% and emerged as the largest faller in the Cambridge Index, after the company warned that it might need additional funding in the near future, to enable it to conduct its business in the best interests of shareholders.
Engineering technology company, Aveva Group, down 0.3%, announced the launch of AVEVA Everything3D at the AVEVA World Summit in Paris. Panmure Gordon advised investors to “Hold” the stock, while Barclays Capital assigned an “Equal Weight” rating and set a target price of 1,700p.
Sagentia Group, down 6.0%, announced the appointment of Michael Lacey-Solymar as a Non Executive Director and Chairman of the audit committee with effect from 11 October 2012. LPA Group, down 3.7%, announced that trading in the final quarter of the financial year ended 30 September 2012 remained strong, adding that it anticipates its current expectations to be met or exceeded.
In the UK, the FTSE 100 index closed 1.3% lower, at 5,793.3, after the IMF lowered its UK economic growth forecast for 2012 and 2013. Disappointing industrial production and trade balance data also weighed on market sentiment. However, on the positive side, UK GDP rose 0.8% in the three months to the end of September, putting an end to continued recessionary fears. The FTSE techMARK 100 Index dropped 2.8% to 2,389.7, while the FTSE AIM 100 Index retreated 1.0% to 3,179.9.
US markets ended lower last week as growth concerns rose and amid caution ahead of the third-quarter earnings season. However, better-than-expected consumer sentiment and jobless claims helped to cap losses. The Dow Jones Index lost 2.1% to 13,328.9, while the Nasdaq Index fell 2.9% to 3044.1.
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