IQGeo Group, up 17.1%, announced that it has agreed to sell its remaining 5.6% stake in its former RTLS SmartSpace business for a total consideration of £2.5m. This disposal is expected to complete during the course of January 2021.
UK markets ended mostly lower last week, as the UK government imposed restrictions to curb new variant of the coronavirus raging across the country. On the data front, British house prices rose at the highest growth rate for six years in December, showing that tax incentives and a COVID-driven appetite for larger homes boosted demand. The FTSE 100 index declined 0.6% to settle at 6460.5, while the FTSE AIM 100 index rose 1.9% to close at 5893.6. Meanwhile, the FTSE techMARK 100 index lost 0.8% to end at 6280.6.
US markets ended higher in the previous week, lifted by rise in energy and material stocks, as traders expect strong economic recovery in 2021 on the hope of COVID-19 vaccine. On the macro front, the US pending home sales declined for the third consecutive month in November, amid high prices due to an acute shortage of properties, whereas Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index unexpectedly climbed in December. On the flipside, the US weekly jobless claims unexpectedly dropped for the second straight week in the week ended 25 December 2020. The DJIA index rose 1.3% to end at 30606.5, while the NASDAQ index gained 0.7% to close at 12888.3.