Aston Martin races to its seventh day of gains
ShareS in Aston Martin cruised to a seventh consecutive session of gains after a positive result on the track and hopes of a turnaround.
The FTSe 250 luxury car maker gained 15pc, or 36.1p, to 276.1p in a rally that some analysts put down to a ‘short squeeze’.
This happens when short-sellers betting against the stock are forced to close their positions to limit losses when shares rise.
The rally began last week when aston Martin published its fullyear results for 2022. although it made losses of £495m, investors were encouraged by a more optimistic outlook for this year.
The feel-good factor was helped by Fernando alonso’s surprise third-place at the Bahrain Grand Prix at the weekend in the first Formula 1 race of the season.
Oddo BhF auto analyst anthony Dick said: ‘It could be some shorts covering or generally improved perception on the back of reassuring results.
‘It’s also possible the F1 performance could have something to do with it.’ analysts at Jefferies sounded a note of caution and warned aston Martin shares have ‘run ahead of themselves’.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.22pc, or 17.32 points, to 7929.71 while the FTSE 250 rose 0.69pc, or 138.34 points, to 20,064.11.
Mining stocks sank into the red after China issued a lower-thanexpected economic growth target of 5pc. Anglo American was down 3.7pc, or 111p, to 2931.5p while Rio Tinto fell 2.8pc, or 172p, to 5972p, Glencore slid 3.9pc, or 20.5p, to 502.5p and Antofagasta sank 1.5pc, or 25.5p, to 1638.5p.
Shipping company Clarkson gained 1.8pc, or 60p, to 3365p after profits hit a record high. The company reported a 45pc rise in profits to £100.9m. attributing it to the strong performance of its broking division.
Rolls- Royce powered ahead after Bernstein raised the jet engine maker’s target price to 165p from 108p. The shares, which have risen 64pc this year, added 2.1pc, or 3.14p, to 152.78p.
Paddy Power and Betfair owner Flutter added 4.6pc, or 615p, to 13,975p after Citigroup raised its target price to 13,500p from 12,500p. James Fisher and Sons fell 5.3pc, or 20.5p, to 370p after it said its results would be published two weeks later than planned after recent corporate activity delayed the audit timetable.
The group, which provides marine engineering services, sold its James Fisher Nuclear holdings business to rcapital.
It also sold three businesses last year and expects to report higher revenues than during the previous 12 months.
Foxtons rose 3pc, or 1.2p, to 41.2p after the estate agent snapped up rival atkinson McLeod for £7.4m.
Lookers bought Shropshire vehicle hire and brokerage business Fourways.
But shares in the car dealer sank 1.3pc, or 1.2p, to 92p.
Seeing Machines fell 5.8pc, or 0.43p, to 7.01p after revenues from its after-market business slumped by 14pc to £8.6m in the second half of last year due to limited hardware supply.
Its business aims to prevent driving-related deaths by installing cameras in vehicles that can detect if a motorist is tired. revenue rose 54pc to £20.3m for the six months to December 31.
elsewhere, Getech jumped 15.5pc, or 2.25p, to 16.75p after its hydrogen developer business hired the former boss of ITM Power, Dr Graham Cooley, as its next chairman.
The energy software group bought h2 Green for £1m in January 2021. Cooley, who led ITM from 2009 to 2022, joins h2 Green as it aims to ramp up its capacity to deliver clean energy.