LPA Group, up 5.8%, announced the retirement of Len Porter, Senior Independent Director and chair of both the Remuneration and Audit Committee, with effect from 31 December 2021.
IQGeo Group, unchanged at 129p, today, announced that it has secured a 5-year contract worth $4.5m from a US telecom network operator for fibre network planning, design, and construction management. Orders for associated services are expected in 2022.
UK markets ended higher last week, on hopes that the Omicron variant would be less severe than previous Covid-19 variants. On the data front, UK’s house prices recorded a double-digit growth in December, registering its biggest full year rise since 2006. The FTSE 100 index advanced 0.2% to settle at 7384.5, while the FTSE AIM 100 index rose 1.5% to close at 6014.2. Also, the FTSE techMARK 100 index gained 0.9% to end at 6980.
US markets ended mixed in the previous week. On the macro front, US pending homes sales unexpectedly dropped in November, as high prices and low inventory restricted home buying while the nation’s house price index rose less than expected in October. Additionally, the Dallas Fed manufacturing business index dropped in December, while the region’s goods trade deficit widened in November, as imports surged.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index climbed in December, while the Richmond Fed manufacturing index advanced in the same month. Further, initial jobless claims dropped to a 52-year low in the week ended 24 December 2021. The DJIA index rose 1.1% to end at 36338.3, whereas the NASDAQ index lost 0.1% to close at 15645.0.