Shares sell-off was ‘ big mistake’ says Trump
SHARES in Britain staged a long-awaited comeback yesterday as Donald Trump branded the US-led sell- off of recent days a ‘big mistake’.
The FTSe 100 index closed up 1.9pc, or 138.02 points, at 7297.42 as shares in London snapped six days of losses. It followed days of heavy selling as markets went into a tailspin amid fears over rising inflation and interest rates.
The global sell-off which saw the Dow Jones Industrial average dive 1,175 points on Monday – its biggest ever one-day fall – sparked fears that the bull run of recent years was over and a painful correction was now in store.
President Trump took to Twitter to criticise investors. ‘In the old days, when good news was reported, the stock market would go up,’ he said. ‘Today, when good news is reported, the stock market goes down. Big mistake, and we have so much good (great) news about the economy!’
The Dow Jones recovered some losses on Tuesday but was down another 19.42 points last night. hopeful that recent losses had been a blip, investors in London gravitated towards financial giants for ballast, with Old Mutual (up 5.4pc, or 12.1p, at 234.8p) and
Prudential (up 3.6pc, or 63.5p, to 1835.5p) among the top risers.
an upbeat trading update gave lettings franchise Belvoir a boost. analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald rated the stock a ‘buy’ after a positive update showed revenue reached £11.1m in 2017.
It was a welcome result for the business, whose shares slipped after merger talks with Property Franchise Group fizzled out in November. Belvoir still has some ground to make up to get back to its October peak of 112.5p a share, but the aim-listed company said performance for the year will be in line with market expectations.
Growth in income from management service fees and a record number of acquisitions helped revenues climb 13pc, and it is wellplaced to profit from industry consolidation. Shares gained 9.9pc, or 9p, to 99.5p. Worldpay shares initially slipped as it announced Deanna Oppenheimer had resigned from its board.
It follows her appointment as non-executive chair at hargreaves Lansdown. Shares rose 3.4pc, or 184p, to 5550p.
a ‘ buy’ rating from Liberum pushed UDG Healthcare up as the broker said earnings expectations for the firm, which provides advisory services to the healthcare industry, ‘are too pessimistic’ and believes management will upgrade guidance. Shares surged 5.9pc, or 44p, to 786p.
Tullow Oil recorded sales revenue of £1.2bn and operating profit of £15.8m in 2017. Shares gushed higher as it reaffirmed the potential of its project in Kenya, where it expects to produce first oil in the early 2020s. Investors won’t get a dividend for the year as it focuses on investing in its asset and reducing it debt. Shares gained 1.4pc, or 2.5p, to 186p. Touchstone Exploration announced the start of its 10-well drilling programme in Trinidad and Tobago and that lifted shares 11.1pc, or 1.25p, to 12.5p
a positive rating from Shore Capital sent Restaurant Group shares higher. rating the stock a ‘buy’, it said there were significant growth opportunities for the group as it builds its concessions and pubs business. Shares leapt 2.2pc, or 5.6p, to 255.6p.
Utility giant Severn Trent received fewer complaints in the last quarter, despite more supply interruptions than usual.
Britain’s biggest listed water company said it was set to pocket at least £50m in outperformance payments, which are doled out by water regulator Ofwat for providing a good service. Shares rose 3pc, or 54.5p, to 1870.5p.