Cambridge Index jumps 2.3%

The Cambridge Index advanced 2.3% or 652.4 points to settle at 29,431.5, as eight of the top ten Index heavyweights posted weekly gains to their share prices.

Deutsche Bank reissued its “Buy” rating on Johnson Matthey, down 0.7%, with a target price of 4500p.

DS Smith, up 1.4%, announced that final revenues advanced to £5.8b, while its profit before tax rose to £292m.

AVEVA Group, up 7.9%, announced that annual revenues increased to £499.1m. However, its profit before tax fell to £46.9m. Barclays Capital reaffirms its “Equal weight” rating on the stock with a target price of 2800p.

Vernalis, up 9.4%, announced termination of its development and commercialisation agreement with Tris Pharma, Inc., with immediate effect. As per the terms of termination, it would pay $10m cash to free from all future payment obligations.

Frontier Developments, up 7.9%, reported strong revenues for the first half period following better results from its franchises, Elite Dangerous and Planet Coaster. Numis Securities restated its “Hold” rating on the stock with a target price of 300p. FinnCap lifted its target price on the stock to 1750p from 1700p.

Peel Hunt reissued its “Buy” rating on Xaar, up 5.4%.

FinnCap gave a target price of 165p on Tristel, up 4.8%.

Liberum Capital reissued its “Buy” rating on Kier Group, up 2.4%.

Canaccord Genuity reissued its “Hold” rating on Amino Technologies, up 2%, with a target price of 220p.

RhythmOne, down 1%, announced that final revenues climbed to $255.1m. However, its loss before tax rose to $22.9m. Numis Securities reaffirmed its “Buy” rating on the stock.

Bango, down 2.2%, announced that its carrier billing solution has been implemented by Entel subscribers in Chile for Google Play.

Sareum Holdings, down 3%, announced the appointment of WH Ireland Limited and Hybridan LLP as Nominated Adviser and Sole Broker, respectively.

CyanConnode Holdings, down 5.3%, announced that it remains on track to reduce its costs further by £500k per annum. Separately, the company announced that Non-Executive Director, Simon Smith has decided to leave from the Board, with immediate effect. The company also received a purchase order of €184,000 for the supply of its narrowband RF mesh communication modules.

UK markets finished mixed in the previous week, as the nation’s unemployment rate remained steady at its lowest level since 1975 for the three months ended April, while the UK house price balance rose more-than-expected in May. British industrial production fell for the first time in four months in April, while the nation’s construction output declined to its lowest level since 2013 in April. The UK’s house price index rose at its slowest pace since March 2017 for April. The FTSE 100 index fell 0.6% to settle at 7,633.9, while the FTSE AIM 100 index added 0.8% to close at 5,780.3. Meanwhile, the FTSE techMARK 100 index gained 0.2% to end at 4,795.8.

US markets also ended mixed last week. The US Federal Reserve (Fed), in its June monetary policy meeting, increased its benchmark interest rate for the second time in 2018 and signalled two more rate hikes for this year. The Fed also raised its outlook on the US economy for 2018. In other economic news, the US inflation accelerated to a six-year high in May, while the nation’s retail sales surprisingly jumped to its highest level in six months in the same month. The DJIA index dropped 0.9% to end at 25,090.5, while the NASDAQ index added 1.3% to close at 7,746.4.

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