Barclays downgraded JD Sports on Monday to ‘equalweight’ from ‘overweight’ and cut the price target to 140p from 165p after the retailer announced the acquisition of US rival Hibbett last week for $1. 1bn.
European shares opened higher on Monday as investors eyed central bank rate decisions this week, while shares in Philips and Atos were in focus.
London stocks rose in early trade on Monday following another record high at the end of last week.
Petrofac tumbled on Monday as it announced a delay to the publication of its full-year results and said it may have to convert a significant proportion of its existing debt to equity.
Infrastructure company Digital 9 Infrastructure announced a significant step towards strengthening its financial position on Monday, with the receipt of a deferred consideration payment of $25m (£20m) related to the sale of the Verne Global group, as announced on 15 March.
Cell and gene therapy contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) Oxford Biomedica reported stability in its core business on Monday, with a small increase in full-year core revenue for 2023, despite a 36% decrease in total revenue to £89. 5m.
Betting and gambling giant Entain announced the successful repricing of two of its existing ‘Term Loan B’ loans on Monday, along with the pricing and allocation of fungible add-ons, in a bid to optimise its financial position.
N Brown said on Monday that chairman Ron McMillan will be retiring and stepping down from the board with effect from 30 April for personal reasons.
Ultimate Products, the parent of homeware brands including Salter and Beldray, announced a change in its leadership on Monday, with James ‘Jim’ McCarthy deciding to step down as non-executive chair from 31 July.
Supermarket Income REIT said on Monday that it has bought a portfolio of Carrefour supermarkets in France through a sale and leaseback transaction for €75. 3m.
Kosmos Energy announced the refinancing of its reserve-based lending (RBL) facility on Monday, with its final maturity now set for December 2029.
AstraZeneca issued favourable updates on two of its breast cancer treatments on Monday - ‘Truqap’, or capivasertib, and ‘Enhertu’, or trastuzumab deruxtecan - following encouraging results from respective phase three trials.
London open The FTSE 100 is expected to open 41 points higher on Monday, having closed ahead 0. 75% on Friday at 8,139. 83.
London stocks looked set for a positive open on Monday after closing at another record high at the end of last week.
Senior Whitehall officials fear Thames Water’s financial collapse could trigger a rise in government borrowing costs not seen since the chaos of the Liz Truss mini-budget, the Guardian can reveal. Such is their concern about the impact on wider borrowing costs for the UK, even beyond utilities and infrastructure, that they believe Thames should be renationalised before the general election. Officials in the Treasury and the UK’s Debt Management Office fear that, unless the UK’s biggest water company is renationalised as soon as possible, “prolonged uncertainty” about its fate could “damage confidence in UK plc at a sensitive time”, with elections in the UK and the US later this year.
UK house prices jumped by nearly 2% over the last year, industry data showed on Monday, driven by demand for smaller homes.