Israeli oil and gas firm Energean (ENOG) was the top riser in the FTSE 250, up 13.2% to 502p after it announced that it had agreed to acquire Edison E&P at a revised price of $284 million, down from the original sum of $740 million, after the latter’s Norwegian assets were excluded from the takeover deal. Investors reacted positively to the reduction in outlay on the deal which is still ...

UK stocks eked out relatively modest gains in early trading on Monday as investors weighed signs of economic recovery with a potential resurgence in coronavirus cases. At 0825, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 13.71 points, or 0.2%, at 6,173.01. Mining company Rio Tinto (RIO) shed 0.9% to £44.95, even as it reached an agreement with the government of Mongolia on a new source of domestic ...

Pubs and brewing group Marston’s (MARS) reported a £40 million impact from coronavirus, which reduced interim pre-tax profit to £9.4 million for the period ended 28 March 2020, sending the shares 6% lower to 61p. At the end of February revenues were broadly in-line with the prior year, but the closing of the estate in mid-March resulted in around £40 million of lost revenues. CASH FLOW ...

Shares in supermarket group Tesco (TSCO) edged 0.27% higher to 227p after a surge in sales, though this was offset by rising costs with profit expected to remain flat this year. The supermarket’s first quarter trading update for the 13 weeks to 30 May revealed shoppers are buying more during fewer trips, with shopping frequency down 32% but the basket size up 64%. This seemingly helped ...

Resources industry engineer Weir (WEIR) continues to investigate options to rid itself of its Oil & Gas division. Moving away from oil is a long-term strategic decision but the exit has become more urgent given the impact on workloads in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis. Weir said the Oil & Gas division had seen a ‘significant step-down’ in North American activity levels in the three ...

Shopping centre owner Intu Properties (INTU) said it was preparing for administration should talks with key stakeholders on a debt standstill fall through. It shares fell 60% to 1.6p capping a rapid fall from grace since its relegation from the ranks of the FTSE 100 back in 2017. The intervening period has taken in two failed takeovers – rival Hammerson (HMSO) and a consortium led by ...

UK stocks ended the week on the front foot along with other European markets, shrugging off previous concerns over a spike in global coronavirus cases. On the currency markets the pound was steady against the dollar at $1.24 while in commodities Brent crude traded slightly lower at $41 per barrel and gold traded sideways at $1,763 per ounce. The FTSE 100 index added 0.8% to 6,198 led by ...

Shares in value-for-money greeting cards-to-gifts retailer Card Factory (CARD) cheapened 3.5% to 48.1p on Friday following the news chief executive Karen Hubbard will step down at the end of June after a testing four years in the hot seat. The change at the top comes at a difficult time for Wakefield-headquartered Card Factory, which expects high street transactions to be hurt due to social ...

Shares in low cost airline EasyJet (EZJ) fell 5.7% to 698p after it raised £419 million through a placing to help it weather the coronavirus storm. The airline placed 59.5 million ordinary shares in total, 15% of its existing share capital, at a price of 703p per share – a 5% discount to yesterday’s closing price of 740p. EasyJet said the placing would ‘further enhance’ its ...

Video games developer Sumo Group (SUMO:AIM) said it has continued to perform well since reporting results in April, generating a strong pipeline of new business. The shares traded 1% higher at 198p and have gained 33% over the last three months. As reported on 25 Mach the company has a high degree of earnings visibility on contracted or near-contracted revenue of around 71%. NEW ...