London midday: Hikma, COLT lead stocks higher despite Greek negativity

UK stocks advanced on Friday as investors shrugged off a disappointing end to the Eurogroup meeting on Greece, and instead sought out bargains following the recent sell-off.

The FTSE 100, which dropped to levels not seen since January earlier in the week, was trading up 0.54% at 6,744.20 by midday.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals was leading gains on the blue-chip index after a broker upgrade, while telecoms group COLT surged on the FTSE 250 after a takeover approach.

Oanda analyst Craig Erlam said: “It’s been a rather bizarre start to the trading session on Friday, as all the negativity around more failed Greek talks, possible default and capital controls over the weekend is met with strong gains in equity markets and falling yields in bond markets”.

He suggested that the positive moves seen across markets could simply be a result of technical moves or so-called ‘quadruple witching’, which occurs when stock index futures, stock index options, stock options and single stock futures all expire on the same day.

UK equities could also have been given a lift by a strong performance on Wall Street the previous evening, where the Nasdaq closed up 1.3% to finish at a new all-time high of 5,133 after dovish comments from the Federal Reserve and lower-than-expected inflation data.

As for Greece, concerns about a run on the country’s banks have intensified following a break-down in talks at the Eurogroup meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday, where leaders failed to agreed on a cash-for-reforms deal for Athens.

According to reports, some €2bn has already been withdrawn from Greek banks so far this week, including a record €1bn on Wednesday alone. Furthermore, an ECB official has warned that Greek banks may not be able to open at all next week due to insufficient funds, prompting worries about a further flight of funds on Friday.

Officials have now agreed to hold an emergency EU summit on Monday in what is being seen as a last-ditch attempt to secure funds for Greece, as it nears a €1.6bn debt repayment to the IMF on 30 June.

Hikma and Ashtead upgraded, COLT soars

Pharmaceuticals group Hikma was a high riser after analysts at Citigroup upgraded the stock from ‘neutral’ to ‘buy’, recommending investors to “keep the faith” despite a 25% drop in the shares since late February.

Equipment rental outfit Ashtead was also boosted by comments from Exane BNP Paribas, which lifted its rating on the shares to ‘outperform’.

Shares in COLT surged over 21% after Fidelity said it has made a 190p per share offer for the remaining in the stake in the company it does not already own. The board, however, reckons that the offer undervalues the company.

Standard Life edged higher after announced that chief executive David Nish will step down on 5 August after six years in the role, to be succeeded by Keith Skeoch, who is currently boss of Standard Life Investments.

N Brown, the home shopping group which brands such as Simply Be and Jacamo, rose after saying its full-year guidance remains unchanged after an “encouraging start to the year”.

Mining stocks were pulling back after a strong showing on Thursday, with Glencore, Randgold and Antofagasta among the worst performers.

Market Movers
techMARK 3,173.01 +0.79%
FTSE 100 6,744.20 +0.54%
FTSE 250 17,739.44 +0.34%

FTSE 100 - Risers
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,950.00p +2.90%
Tesco (TSCO) 215.20p +2.72%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 1,115.00p +2.48%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 266.90p +2.14%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,094.00p +2.05%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,655.00p +2.03%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,145.00p +1.96%
GKN (GKN) 353.70p +1.90%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,152.00p +1.77%
3i Group (III) 525.50p +1.64%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Glencore (GLEN) 274.20p -0.78%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,518.00p -0.62%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,400.00p -0.50%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,791.00p -0.28%
Pearson (PSON) 1,250.00p -0.24%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,114.00p -0.19%
Shire Plc (SHP) 5,265.00p -0.19%
National Grid (NG.) 858.90p -0.15%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 716.00p -0.14%
Fresnillo (FRES) 726.00p -0.14%

FTSE 250 - Risers
COLT Group SA (COLT) 189.70p +21.06%
Soco International (SIA) 196.30p +4.47%
Poundland Group (PLND) 312.90p +4.27%
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 363.00p +2.95%
Aveva Group (AVV) 1,955.00p +2.79%
Evraz (EVR) 147.20p +2.58%
Hellermanntyton Group (HTY) 358.70p +2.49%
Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 343.80p +2.44%
RPS Group (RPS) 228.40p +2.33%
Infinis Energy (INFI) 194.50p +2.05%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Card Factory (CARD) 328.30p -8.68%
Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 156.40p -3.52%
NMC Health (NMC) 815.00p -1.75%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 177.10p -1.67%
Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 227.00p -1.56%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 118.20p -1.50%
Indivior (INDV) 229.50p -1.38%
Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 2,137.00p -1.34%
Hunting (HTG) 593.50p -1.25%
Workspace Group (WKP) 879.00p -1.24%