Meggitt wins GLDS cooling system contract, Sports Direct to vote against Goals Soccer board

Stocks to watch

Meggitt has been awarded a multi-million dollar contract by General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS), with the aerospace engineering business set to develop advanced cooling systems for next generation ground combat platforms. GDLS recently won US Government backing to procure more than $250m-worth of these new cooling systems.

Sports Direct said it would vote against the reappointment of the board at Goals Soccer Centres over the football pitch operator's refusal to allow it to hire corporate investigator Kroll to look into a range of accounting issues at the troubled firm. Mike Ashley-owned Sports Direct holds a 19% share of Goals, which in March discovered that it owed more than £12m in unpaid taxes. Its shares have been suspended.

Halma has agreed to buy Ampac Group, an Australian maker of fire detection systems, for A$135m (£74m) in cash. The FTSE 100 safety and protection company said the deal was part of its strategy to buy companies it works with to accelerate growth in fire detection markets. Ampac trades in Australia, New Zealand and the UK.

Newspaper round-up

Monsoon Accessorize is asking landlords to reduce rents on more than half its 258 leased stores in return for a £10m share of profits and an £18m interest-free loan to keep the company afloat. The multi-millionaire owner, Peter Simon, has also promised to halve the £5m rent on the fashion business’s London head office, which he owns, to help reduce costs. – Guardian

Investment group Hargreaves Lansdown has urged investment manager Neil Woodford to look for alternative ways to return billions of pounds to clients trapped in his suspended flagship fund. In an online post addressed to Hargreaves customers, the chief executive, Chris Hill, said he was angry that the situation was still unresolved and pledged to ratchet up the pressure on Woodford’s investment house. – Guardian

Britain’s biggest mobile operators face explosive claims of attempted price fixing and collusion as part of a £1bn High Court battle over the sudden collapse of Phones 4U. The former chief executive of the mobile operator O2 made “inappropriate” attempts to discuss pricing and smartphone sales plans with a direct rival, it is claimed. – Telegraph

Shares in Slack jumped by more than 60pc on its market debut as Silicon Valley’s hot streak of giant flotations showed no signs of slowing down. The office messaging app, which has been styled as an email-killer, climbed as high as $41.95 a share, against an earlier reference price of $26. – Telegraph

The governor of the Bank of England has warned Facebook that its planned digital currency would have to meet strict regulations before being adopted by the public. In the annual Mansion House speech Mark Carney said: “The Bank of England approaches Libra with an open mind but not an open door.” – The Times

MPs have clashed with the Financial Conduct Authority over whether it should widen its remit and assume responsibility for handling City firms’ compliance with the Equality Act. The regulator was given a dressing down by Nicky Morgan, Conservative chairwoman of the Commons Treasury select committee, who told it to rethink its response to a report published last month that recommended a range of measures to improve consumers’ access to financial services. – The Times

US close

Stocks finished the same colour as they started on Thursday - in the green - as crude oil futures leapt higher as tensions in the Persian Gulf worsened sharply.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session up 0.94% at 26,753.17, the S&P 500 added 0.95% to close at 2,954.18, and the Nasdaq 100 was ahead 0.92% at 7,738.05.

Investors spent much of the session digesting Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s pledge on Wednesday to “do what it takes” to keep the US economic expansion going.

The Fed’s economic projections, published alongside its policy statement, revealed that seven of 17 FOMC members believed two interest rate cuts would be needed in 2019.

"This is nuts,” quipped Neil Wilson of Markets.com.

“The Fed is still not saying it will cut, the risks to trade remain with no end in sight for a deal between the US and China.

“Anyway, the market can stay irrational longer than bears can stay solvent.”