Cambridge Index drops 2.1%

The Cambridge Index eased 594.5 points or 2.1% to close at 27,350.3, as seven of the top ten Index heavyweights posted weekly losses to their share prices.

Vernalis, up 0.7%, announced that Dr Ian Gilham has resigned as a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee with immediate effect. Furthermore, Vernalis stated that Carol Ferguson, a member of the Remuneration Committee, will immediately take his position as the Chair of the Committee.

Peel Hunt reduced its target price on Horizon Discovery Group, unchanged at 190p, to 177p from 181p and gave a “Hold” rating.

Netcall, down 0.4%, announced that it has successfully renewed a minimum £1.6m contract for three years with a leading UK bank for its Low-code platform, MATS. Separately, Netcall informed that it has changed its registered office address to 1st Floor, Building 2, Peoplebuilding Estate, Maylands Avenue, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, with immediate effect. FinnCap reissued its “Corporate” rating on the stock.

Marshall Motor Holdings, down 0.6%, in its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2018, announced that revenues slightly dropped to £1162.9m from £1187.4m reported in the same period last year. Its profit before tax eased to £17.2m from £18.6m, while the basic earnings per share slid to 17.5p from 18.6p in the previous year. The board has declared an interim dividend of 2.15p per share, payable on 21 September 2018 to shareholders on the register as at 24 August 2018. Furthermore, the company left its current outlook unchanged for 2018.

Gaming Realms, down 1.1%, announced the successful completion of proposed transaction of selling a 70% stake in most of its UK online casino B2C business to River UK Casino Limited. The company also disclosed that it has received an initial consideration payment of £4.2m in cash.

UK markets ended in the red last week, dragged down by losses in energy and mining sector stocks. In economic news, the UK ILO unemployment rate unexpectedly fell in June. Meanwhile, the nation’s inflation advanced for the first time since November 2017 in July, while the house price index rose in June. Also, the British retail sales unexpectedly climbed in July. The FTSE 100 index declined 1.4% to settle at 7558.6, while the FTSE AIM 100 index fell 0.6% to close at 5739.5. Meanwhile, the FTSE techMARK 100 index lost 0.8% to end at 4733.9.

US markets ended mixed in the previous week. On the data front, the US small business optimism index surprisingly advanced in July, while the advance retail sales climbed more-than-expected in the same month. Furthermore, the nation’s industrial production rose in July, while its manufacturing production jumped for the second straight month in July. Additionally, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly dropped for the second straight week in the prior week, while the US homebuilders’ sentiment index fell to an 11-month low in August. The DJIA index rose 1.4% to end at 25669.3, while the NASDAQ index lost 0.3% to close at 7816.3.

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