ARM Holdings, up 4.4%, stated that the company is anticipating a double-digit share of the server chip market in the next three to five years. Johnson Matthey rose 3.2% despite posting lacklustre results. First half revenue was down 17% to £4,892m and underlying pre-tax profit declined 6% to £191.2m. The board forecast that its second half performance would be similar to the first half of the year. Deutsche Bank recommended the stock as a “Buy” and set a target price of 2,630p, whereas HSBC and UBS reiterated their “Neutral” stance.
HiWave Technologies jumped 16.4% and emerged as the top gainer in the Cambridge Index. Phytopharm rose by 10.1%, despite announcing that its full year revenues declined 71.4% to £0.02m, and that operating losses increased 8.1% to £9.3m. LPA Group, up 9.8%, announced that the Saffron Walden Planning Committee has approved the grant of Outline Planning Permission for 24 houses on the Tudor Works site. The company said that it would evaluate options regarding sale of the site and make an announcement in due course. CEO Peter Pollock stated that full year trading has comfortably exceeded expectations, adding that the current year has started strongly.
Dialight, up 5.3%, announced that it has won an order worth about $400,000, to provide more than 1,000 LED fixtures for installation at a 250MW solar thermal power plant in California, US.
Broker, Panmure Gordon recommended Aveva Group, up 3.3%, as a “Hold”, and lowered its target price to 1,838p from 1,948p. Aiming to take advantage of Christmas sales, Greene King, up 2.5%, re-launched its 8 x 50cl Head Brewer’s Selection packs to encourage consumers to try new bottled ales. Shore Capital recommended the stock as a “Hold”, whereas Deutsche Bank put a “Buy” rating on the stock and retained its target price at 665p.
CSR, up 2.2%, announced that its technology is to be used in LG’s new smart phone, Optimus VU2. Bango, up 0.7%, announced that operator billing for purchases on Facebook is now live for Orange subscribers in France. Bango also announced the appointment of Mr Gerry Tucker as CFO.
Netcall, up 0.9%, announced that the first half of the year has begun well, with trading in line with market expectations. Sepura, up 3.3%, announced that its first half revenues advanced 34% to €43.5m, while operating profits stood at €2.7m, compared to an operating loss of €4.8m recorded in the same period a year ago.
In the UK, the FTSE 100 index closed 3.8% higher, at 5,819.1, amid increasing speculation that European officials would arrive at a consensus on the payout of the next tranche of aid to Greece. The FTSE techMARK 100 Index gained 2.8% to 2,413.5, while the FTSE AIM 100 Index advanced 3.1% to 3,117.1.
US markets ended higher during the week, after the US President expressed confidence that Congress would agree a deal to avert the “fiscal cliff”. Encouraging US housing data, initial jobless claims and manufacturing PMI also boosted investors’ risk appetite. The Dow Jones Index rose 3.3% to 13,009.7, while the Nasdaq Index climbed 4.0% to 2,966.9.
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