Weekly review

Equity view

GSK updated the market on the litigation regarding the now-discontinued heartburn drug ranitidine, or ‘Zantac’, on Friday. The pharmaceuticals giant confirmed it had reached a confidential settlement with James Goetz.

Online fashion retailer Boohoo, which holds a significant stake of approximately 26.6% in Revolution Beauty Group, updated the market on its proposed board appointments to Revolution on Friday. The company said that alongside the proposed appointments of Alistair McGeorge and Neil Catto to the board, it wanted to include Rachel Horsefield in the future independent board appointment process.

Shares in Hotel Chocolat Group fell sharply on Friday, after the confectionary chain warned on profits for the second time in two months. In a brief statement, the Aim-listed firm reiterated its plans to “re-shape the business in readiness for its next stage of growth”, and said sales remained in line with market expectations.

Shares in Audioboom Group plunged on Friday, after the podcast specialist warned on profits, despite the genre’s enduring popularity. Updating on current trading, the Aim-listed firm said it had seen good year-on-year growth in both underlying revenues and key performance indicators, which it expected to continue into the second half. In May, a record 135m podcasts were downloaded globally, it noted.

Packaging specialist DS Smith posted an "excellent" set of full-year results despite what it termed as a "challenging economic environment". "Our strong customer relationships in the resilient [Fast Moving Consumer Goods} sector, together with the investments we are making to drive cost efficiencies and growth, give us confidence for the future."

Spirax-Sarco Engineering said on Thursday that it will invest £3m in return for a 15% interest in Norwegian thermal battery company Kyoto Group. As part of the deal, Spirax will enter into agreements to accelerate the decarbonisation of industrial process heat with Kyoto's Heatcube, a molten salt thermal energy storage solution.

Premier Inn owner Whitbread posted a jump in first-quarter sales on Thursday as it said consumer demand in the UK has remained strong. In the 13 weeks to 1 June, total revenue was up 19%, with UK revenue up 16% and a 124% increase in Germany. Like-for-like sales growth was 14% and 63%, respectively.

Tools and equipment specialist Speedy Hire reported a significant increase in statutory revenue in its full-year results on Thursday, up 13.9% to £440.6m. The company did, however, report an 88% tumble in statutory operating profit for the year ended 31 March, to £3.8m, while profit before tax saw a substantial decrease of 93.8% to £1.8m.

GSK unveiled successful third phase clinical trial results for its Arexvy vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus in older adults. The trial showed the adjuvanted vaccines efficacy against lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV in adults over 60 throughout multiple RSV seasons and when revaccinated annually.

Anglo American announced the value of rough diamond sales for De Beers' fifth sales cycle of 2023 on Wednesday. The company reported total sales amounting to $450m, marking a slight decrease compared to the prior sales cycle.

Liontrust Asset Management posted lower full-year profits but the dividend payout was steady even as the firm looked to expand. "The business is in strong health despite the challenges of the past year and we are seeking to build on this through the proposed acquisition of GAM Holding AG to accelerate the strategic aims of Liontrust becoming a specialist global investment manager," the firm's boss, John Ions, said.

Halfords posted a decline in full-year profit on Wednesday but said it expects a return to profit growth. Full-year pre-tax profit fell to £51.5m from £89.8m a year earlier, coming in within the company’s guided range. Revenue rose 15.3% to £1.6bn.

Over-50s specialist Saga reported impressive growth in several key sectors in the first four months of its financial year on Tuesday. The London-listed company said the ongoing sale of its insurance underwriting business aligned with its goal to reduce debt and transition to a more capital-light model.

Lookers said on Monday that it has agreed to be bought by Toronto-based car dealership Alpha Auto Group in a £465.4m cash deal. The price represents a 35.3% premium to the closing share price on Monday.

Asset manager Abrdn said on Tuesday that its aIML subsidiary has sold just under 21.8m shares in India’s HDFC Asset Management Company for about 45.7 billion rupees (£337m). The shares sold represent a stake of around 10.2% and aIML no longer has any shares in HDFC AMC.

Hiring specialist SThree reported a "robust" net fee performance for the first half of its financial year, despite what it described as an "uncertain" macroeconomic backdrop. "We are delighted with the strategic progress we have made, centred on an analytical and fact-based approach of knowing where to play and playing where we can win," the company's boss, Timo Lehne, said.

Coca-Cola HBC said on Monday that it has agreed to buy Brown-Forman Finland, owner of the Finlandia vodka brand, for $220m. The business is being bought from Brown-Forman Corporation's wholly-owned subsidiary, Brown-Forman Netherlands BV.

Spectris said on Monday that it has agreed to buy Vermont-based MicroStrain for $37.6m (£29.4m). MicroStrain is a developer of inertial and wireless sensing systems, serving the industrial and aerospace sensing systems market.

NextEnergy Solar Fund said in its final results on Monday that its net asset value per ordinary share increased to 114.3p, up from 113.5p for the 2022 financial year. The FTSE 250 fund said ordinary shareholders' net asset value rose to £674.4m for the 12 months ended 31 March, compared to £668.5m a year earlier.

British American Tobacco revealed significant changes to its management board on Monday, following the appointment of Tadeu Marroco as its chief executive on 15 May. The FTSE 100 tobacco giant said that from 1 July, Johan Vandermeulen would assume the newly-created role of chief operating officer, reporting directly to the CEO.

Economic news

The rate of growth in the UK's private sector slowed in June, a closely-watched survey showed on Friday. The latest S&P Global/CIPS UK services PMI business activity index was 53.7 in June, a three-month low. Although above the neutral 50.0 level and indicating growth, it was below both May’s 55.2 and consensus, for 54.8.

UK retail sales unexpectedly rose in May, helped along by warmer weather, according to figures released on Friday by the Office for National Statistics. Retail sales were up 0.3% following a 0.5% increase in April, and versus expectations of a 0.2% decline.

UK consumer confidence continued to push higher in June, a survey showed on Friday, despite the ongoing cost-of-living squeeze. The latest consumer confidence index from GfK showed a three-point rise in June to -24. While still in negative territory, the index is now well above the same month a year previously, when it was -41.

The Bank of England went ahead and surprised financial markets with a half percentage point interest rate hike. "The [Monetary Policy Committee’s] remit is clear that the inflation target applies at all times, reflecting the primacy of price stability in the UK monetary policy framework," Bank said.

British manufacturers continued to see output volumes fall in June, an industry survey showed on Wednesday. According to the latest industrial trends survey from the Confederation of British Industry, output volumes had a weighted balance of -6% in June, although that was a marginal improvement on May’s -10%.

UK house prices edged higher in April, official data showed on Wednesday, the first month-on-month increase since November. The Office for National Statistics’ house price index rose by 0.5% month-on-month in April, or by 0.4% on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

Public sector borrowing was sharply higher last month, official data showed on Wednesday, on the back of increased benefit payments and the energy support scheme. According to the Office for National Statistics, public sector net borrowing excluding public sector banks - PSNB ex - was £20bn in May, £10.7bn more than the same month a year previously and the second-highest May borrowing since monthly records began in 1993.

UK consumer price inflation came in higher than expected in May, while core inflation hit a 31-year high, according to figures released on Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics. CPI remained at 8.7%, coming in above expectations for a decline to 8.4% and putting pressure on the Bank of England to keep hiking rates.

House prices edged lower in June, an industry survey showed on Monday, the first monthly drop so far this year. According to the latest Rightmove house price index, the average new seller asking price dipped £82 to £372,812 in June. That compare to May’s 1.8% increase.

International events

Activity in euro area factory and services slowed significantly in June, the results of a batch of closely watched surveys revealed. Growth weakened the most in France, due in part to strikes, but activity in Germany also came close to a stand-still.

There was scant change in the degree of tightness in the US jobs market last week. According to the US Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms the number of initial unemployment claims remained at 264,000 during the week finishing on 17 June.

The Swiss National Bank increased the cost of borrowing for the fifth time on Thursday, as it looked to get inflation under control. The central bank raised its policy rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 1.75%. That was the smallest increase in the current rate-setting cycle, following two 50 basis point rises in March and December, and two 75 basis point rises in June and September last year.

Norway’s central bank hiked interest rates on Thursday by 50 basis points 3.75% as it looks to tackle inflation. This marked the 11th increase since September 2021, and Norges Bank said its current assessment of the outlook and balance of risks implies the policy rate will most likely be raised further in August.

Factory gate prices in the single currency area's largest economy dropped last month. According to Destatis, in seasonally adjusted terms, German producer prices fell at a month-on-month pace of 1.4% in June.

The People’s Bank of China cut two key lending rates on Tuesday as it looks to bolster the economy. The central bank cut the one-year loan prime rate by 10 basis points to 3.55% and the five-year rate by 10 basis points to 4.2%. This was the first such move in 10 months.

Homebuilder confidence in the States moved back into positive territory for the first time in 11 months, helped by a dearth of housing inventory and improving supply chain efficiencies. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index jumped by five points in June to reach 55.

Goldman Sachs has cut its growth forecasts for China, arguing that after a strong start in the first quarter, the country’s post-reopening recovery "appears to have fizzled out in Q2" and that government stimulus won’t be enough. The bank downgraded its 2023 full-year real GDP growth forecast to 5.4% from 6.0% and its 2024 forecast to 4.5% from 4.6%.

Reporting by staff and contributors for Sharecast.com.