The Cambridge Index rose 2.1% or 233.0 points to 11,523.8, with all but one of the top ten index heavyweights achieving handsome returns. Favourable broker reviews benefitted the shares of ARM Holdings, DS Smith and Aveva, all up between 1.4% and 4.1%. However, Johnson Matthey proved to be an exception among the index heavyweights, falling 3.1%, even as platinum prices registered a weekly gain, and after Deutsche Bank retained its rating on the stock at “Buy” and set a target price of 2,775.0p.
PDX surged 29.4% in volatile trade and emerged as the top gainer in the Cambridge Index. The company announced that it has a growing pipeline of quotations and prospects which may result in new orders. However, the company added that the timing of the potential deals is such that it does not eliminate the need for additional funding. Elektron Technology, up 26.6%, announced that its Chairman, Keith Daley, has acquired 250,000 shares at a price of 18p per share. CSR, up 6.1%, announced that it has completed the transfer of its handset connectivity and location development operations to Samsung Electronics for $310m in cash. The company intends to return up to $285m to its shareholders and allocate $40.5m to the planned share buyback. The company is expected to release its third quarter results for the 13 weeks ended 28 September on 23 October 2012. Abcam, up 0.8%, announced that a charitable trust whose trustee is the company’s Director, Jonathan Milner, has sold 200,000 shares at a price of 395p per share.
Phytopharm fell 9.1% and emerged as the largest faller in the Cambridge Index. Sareum Holdings, down 6.7%, announced that its full year expected loss widened to £0.7m from £0.6m in the prior year.
In the UK, the FTSE 100 index closed 2.2% higher, at 5,871.0, after the Bank of England maintained its bond-buying program and kept interest rates unchanged at a record low. Stocks also rose, after ECB President Mario Draghi reiterated his commitment to commence the purchase of bonds of troubled Eurozone nations. Earlier in the week, economic data revealed that the UK’s manufacturing PMI dropped sharply in September and UK mortgage approvals rose less-than-expected in August. The FTSE techMARK 100 Index rose 2.3% to 2,459.6, while the FTSE AIM 100 Index added 0.2% to 3,211.2.
US markets ended higher last week, as the US unemployment rate dropped unexpectedly to the lowest level since January 2009 and after the ECB President stated that the European Central Bank stands ready to start buying European government bonds. However, in late trading on Friday, stocks turned mostly lower, as enthusiasm over the positive employment data faded and investors opted to remain on the sidelines ahead of the third-quarter earnings season. The Dow Jones Index rose 1.3% to 13,610.2, while the Nasdaq Index gained 0.6% to 3,136.2.