The FTSE 100 is up 19 points to 7,554.13 in early trading as the leading index continues its momentum from yesterday. There is optimism that President Trump’s tax reform may actually become law, which helped to boost US markets last night and have a positive effect on markets in other parts of the world.
Online price comparison site Gocompare.com (GOCO) gains 6.3% to 105.3p on news its acquiring MyVoucherCodes for £36.5m and a trading update that reveals full-year adjusted operating profit is expected to hit the upper end of forecasts.
Insurer and asset manager Old Mutual (OML) ticks up 4.2% to 222p on news it’s selling its Single Strategy asset management business to TA Associates for around £600m. Old Mutual’s Wealth division has been transitioning for some time, with its multi-asset business being rebranded Quilter Investors next year.
Biopharma company PureTech Health (PRTC) gets a 3.6% boost to 145p as US-based pharma company Eli Lilly will invest $5m into PureTech’s Entrega affiliate. The money will be used to test Entrega’s peptide delivery technology.
It was good news from Acacia Mining (ACA) after it agreed to sell a non-core royalty relating to the Hounde Mine in Burkina Faso for $45m, helping the shares advance 2.2% to 183.7p.
Oil industry engineer Petrofac (PFC) gains 2.7% to 478.4p after successfully migrating its Satuario Production Enhancement Contract into an interest in a production sharing contract. Its partner in the venture is Mexico’s PEMEX.
Mining minnow Avesoro Resources (ASO:AIM) drops 2.5% to 1.95p after confirming it has acquired twp gold mines in West Africa. The company also announces it completed a share placing which raised around £15.2m.
Agricultural distribution company NWF Group (NWF:AIM) gains 1.9% to 165.5p on news that trading is up compared to last year. For its half year ending 30 November, net debt is also lower compared to last year.
City of London Group (CIN:AIM) falls 5.6% to 101p after revealing it made a £0.2m loss in the six months to 30 September. However, this is an improvement on a year-on-year basis. It lost £0.7m at the same time last year.
Online retailer for Indian consumers Koovs (KOOV:AIM) sheds 15.7% to 22.75p after saying that gross sales are flat at £7.9m on a year-on-year basis. For the first six months to 30 September, the company’s losses fell 15% to £7.8m and its trading margin is up to 18% compared to just 2% last year.
And finally, precision marketing software specialist Pelatro (PTRO:AIM) and global video advertising company Mirriad Advertising (MIRI:AIM) make their stock market debuts.
