Galliford Try rejects Bovis Homes takeover bid, Tritax gets planning consent for acquired Kettering land
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The FTSE 100 is expected to open 10 points higher on Tuesday, having closed up 0.65% at 7,277.73 on Friday, before the long weekend.
Stocks to watch
Galliford Try said it had rejected a bid from home builder Bovis Homes as the offer was not in the interests of all shareholders and the need to ensure that the remaining Galliford Try UK listed construction focused group had a viable capital structure. Bovis wanted to buy Galliford’s Linden Homes and Partnerships & Regeneration arm in exchange for new Bovis shares. Bovis said both companies “are no longer in discussions”.
Tritax Big Box REIT announced on Tuesday that outline planning consent has been obtained for up to 2.31 million square feet of logistics space at Symmetry Park in Kettering. The FTSE 250 company said it represented the second new development from the db Symmetry strategic land portfolio it acquired in February. It said it currently held the land under option, and would now begin committing the initial capital, to be drawn down in phases, in order to ready the site for promotion on a pre-let development basis.
NMC Healthcare, alongside the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) and its investment arm Hassana Investment Company, announced the closing of their definitive agreements over the formation of a joint venture in the Saudi Arabia healthcare sector on Tuesday. The FTSE 250 company said the NMC KSA joint venture was formed by GOSI's contribution of its 38.88% stake in Tadawul-listed National Medical Care Company at a price of SAR 54 per share, and NMC's contribution of its five assets in the country and an additional $66m cash injection at closing.
Newspaper round-up
Jeremy Corbyn has pledged to support a second referendum on any Brexit deal after the Labour leadership came under overwhelming pressure to halt the exodus of its remain voters who backed pro-EU parties at the European elections. The Labour leader said he was “listening very carefully” to both sides of the debate after the party fell behind the Liberal Democrats and also lost ground to the Greens. – Guardian
Michael Gove will pledge free British citizenship for 3 million EU nationals after Brexit if he becomes prime minister, as well as abolishing the burden of providing proof of settled status, the Guardian understands. The environment secretary, one of the leading figures in Vote Leave, is understood to believe strongly that the pledge would honour the promises given to EU citizens by that campaign during the 2016 referendum. – Guardian
Top economists have warned the banking industry to expect further pain over the next two years as the City fears things have “gone from a joke to a nightmare”. The EY Item Club, which uses the Treasury’s model of the economy, said growth in mortgage lending, consumer credit and business loans is all forecast to grow by less than 2pc this year. It called this “the best-case scenario” as the outlook will be even worse if the UK leaves the EU without a deal. – Telegraph
Steel makers are calling on the Government to deliver on promises of “remorseless” support for the sector by cutting power prices for the energy-intensive industry. The demands come as 25,000 jobs hang in the balance with British Steel last week being placed in compulsory liquidation and put in the hands of the Official Receiver. – Telegraph
Nasdaq has scrapped its £615 million bid to buy Norway’s main stock exchange, opening the way for a European rival after a five-month takeover tussle. The American exchanges operator said yesterday that it was abandoning its attempt to buy Oslo Bors after failing to win enough approval from shareholders in the Norwegian securities market. – The Times
Britain could have the world’s first “carbon-negative” power station by the mid-2020s under plans by a trio of energy companies to capture carbon emissions in the Humber region. National Grid, Drax and Equinor said that they planned to work together on developing the country’s first carbon capture, usage and storage hub, following the recommendations of climate change chiefs. – The Times
US close
Stocks on Wall Street staged a small bounce ahead of the long Memorial Day weekend, after the US President indicated he would be willing to ease restrictions on Chinese telco giant Huawei as part of a broader agreement on trade with the Asian giant.
He was followed by Chinese trade envoy Cui Tiankai, who told Bloomberg TV that Beijing was committed to reaching a deal with Washington but also ready to retaliate if needed.
"If we made a deal, I can imagine Huawei being included in some form or some part of a trade deal," Trump had told White House reporters on Thursday evening, as he predicted a swift end to the ongoing trade tensions.
Analysts at Barclays Research were less sure, telling clients on Friday afternoon: "Toughening rhetoric on both sides not only makes our standoff scenario (sustained tariffs on $200bn of Chinese import plus retaliation measures) but also a potential escalation scenario (tariffs on all Chinese imports and tit-for-tat retaliation) more likely by the day."
Strategists at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch were slightly more positive however, saying one day before that they did not expect Donald Trump to escalate the trade war further and that there was more upside to be had in risk assets over the summer, although they expected stock markets to put in a top by 2020.
By the end of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.37% to 25,585.69, while the S&P 500 was ahead by 0.14% to 2,826.06 and the Nasdaq Composite was trading 0.11% higher at 7,637.01.