LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are amongst the biggest risers and fallers within the main London indices midday Thursday.
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FTSE 100 WINNERS
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Dixons Carphone, up 3.4%. The company, formed from the merger of Dixons Retail and Carphone Warehouse, said its Connected World Services arm has signed a deal with US mobile carrier Sprint Corp to open and manage a number of Sprint-branded stores in the US. It will supply mobile phone retail expertise to Sprint for 20 new stores. If successful, the scheme will then be rolled out further, with plans to open up to 500 stores. In the second phase of the programme, Dixons Carphone will invest up to USD32 million to acquire a 50% stake in the joint venture with Sprint.
Astrazeneca, up 0.9% at 4,157.00p. Berenberg upgraded the pharmaceutical giant to Buy from Hold, raising its price target to 5,200 pence from 4,800p.
Tesco, up 0.6%. Four potential buyers have been shortlisted for the sale of Tesco's Homeplus business in South Korea, which is set to fetch around USD6 billion, Reuters reported. Affinity Equity Partners, Carlyle Group, MBK Partners, and the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs have been shortlisted in the auction, Reuters said, citing a report in Korea Economic Daily.
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FTSE 100 LOSERS
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Intertek Group, down 2.8% at 2,392.00. Jefferies downgraded the testing, certification and inspection services provider to Underperform from Hold, cutting its price target to 2,100p from 2,400p.
Royal Mail, down 2.7%, Burberry Group, down 2.1%, Babcock International Group, down 1.6%. The companies are down after going ex-dividend, meaning new buyers no longer qualify for the latest dividend payout.
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FTSE 250 WINNERS
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Ophir Energy, up 2.1% at 113.80p. UBS upgraded the oil and gas company to Buy from Neutral, keeping a price target of 150p.
Jimmy Choo, up 2.0% at 164.90p. Barclays initiated the shoe retailer with an Overweight rating an a price target of 208p.
Kier Group, up 1.2%. The construction and property company said it has struck a deal to sell its fleet and passenger services business, Kier FPS Ltd, for GBP17.9 million in cash. Kier is selling the business to Alpha Holdco 1, a vehicle managed by private equity firm Endless. The sale includes the transfer of the division's finance lease debt of around GBP32 million, the company said. Kier has also signed a five-year deal with the division under which FPS will continue to supply fleet services to Kier's local authority highways and utilities business.
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FTSE 250 LOSERS
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Hunting, down 2.4%. The energy services company said its operating profit has plunged lower in the first half amid a declining rig count in the face of a falling oil price, though it said it is seeing tentative signs of a recovery, even as its full-year results look set also to show a huge drop in profit. It said the second quarter, as anticipated, saw continued declines in the oil and gas market, with an additional 34% decline in wells completed in the US, and 33% worldwide, compared to the first quarter. This "severe" decline has meant operating profit for the company in the first five months is down by 76% year-on-year.
Aveva Group, down 3.8%, Tate & Lyle, down 2.7%, ICAP, down 2.6%, N Brown, down 2.0%, Dairy Crest Group, down 1.9%. The companies are down after going ex-dividend.
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AIM ALL-SHARE WINNERS
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Spectra Systems, up 10%. The authentication technology supplier said it has signed a nine-year supply deal with an unnamed Chinese secure documents manufacturer. The contract covers the supply of at least USD5.6 million of high-margin materials by Spectra and up to USD0.5 million in hand-held readers over the course of the contract. The terms of the deal also requires a minimum annual materials revenue of GBP0.625 million, whether or not the materials are ordered.
Motive Television, up 6.7%. The technology provider to broadcasters and pay television operators said it has developed a personal video recorder for use on mobile devices and tablets, which will allow users to record programmes a week in advance and watch them at a later date.
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AIM ALL-SHARE LOSERS
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Coal of Africa, down 13%. The company said the sale of its Mooiplaats Colliery asset in South Africa to Blackspear Capital has been cancelled and said it now in talks to find another buyer. Coal of Africa's sale of the colliery asset was agreed earlier this year but has been delayed on two occasions to allow more time for Blackspear to provide proof of funding to back the ZAR250 million sale. The deadline for the offer had been extended to June 30, but this has now lapsed and will not be extended further, Coal of Africa said.
Strategic Minerals, down 10%. The company said buying more projects is "imperative" as the Cobre mine in New Mexico is not sufficient to cover its overheads. In a statement set to be given at its annual general meeting, Managing Director John Peters said that while the Cobre mine remains profitable, this is not sufficient to meet its corporate overheads.
Premaitha Health, down 9.6% at 21.35p. The company said it is to raise GBP8 million via a share placing to back its IONA test. It said it will place 40 million shares at 20 pence per share.
By Daniel Ruiz; danielruiz@alliancenews.com
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