Vodafone swoop sends telecom shares soaring
INVESTORS were dialling into the telecoms sector after it emerged that emirates telecommunications Group had taken a 9.8pc stake in Vodafone, for £3.3bn.
the Abu Dhabi group said it wanted ‘to gain significant exposure to a world leader in connectivity and digital services’.
vodafone shares rose 2.24p, or 1.9pc to 120.06p, and BT, where Israeli-French billionaire Patrick Drahi has an 18pc stake, nudged 0.4pc, or 0.65p higher to 181.25p.
It is not known exactly what emirates telecommunications wants, but investors expect the relationship to be a positive one.
‘the infrastructure sector has become hot property in recent years as investors have realised its role in the provision of essential services and the long-term potential for strong cash generation,’ said russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
the FTSE 100 traded 0.6pc, or 46.65 points, higher at 7464.8 despite a worrying update from China, where industrial output fell 2.9pc in April and retail sales tumbled 11.1pc.
this would normally set off a ripple of selling activity across the mining sector but it appeared to have the opposite effect. Glencore was up 3.4p, or 15.65p, to 477p, Fresnillo rose 4.6pc, or 33.4p, to 756.8p and Antofagasta was 2.5pc, or 34p, higher at 1382.5p.
Analysts said commodity firms were probably boosted by wheat prices, which hit a 14-year high after India restricted exports.
Dropping down a few divisions and online retailers were in the spotlight. Fast-fashion group Boohoo dropped 2.6pc, or 2.14p, to 79.66p after the investment bank Credit suisse downgraded its recommendation to ‘neutral’ from ‘outperform’ and slashed its price target to 80p from 170p.
stubbornly high air freight rates, question marks over the opening of a Us distribution centre and competition concerns prompted the downgrade.
It is almost two years since the group, which owns brands including nasty Gal and Karen Millen, was embroiled in allegations that it sourced clothes from factories and warehouses with poor health and safety records. In that time the stock has dropped from over £4. rival Asos, down 40pc in the year to date, felt the pinch too as it fell 1.5pc, or 21p, to 1425p.
Synairgen jumped 31.1pc, or 8.3p to 35p on the back of some indepth analysis of data of a Covid treatment it is developing.
Its snG001 is working very well in people with compromised respiratory systems – around a third of those people analysed in the study. this, the company reckons, provides a ‘strong rationale’ to carry on research and development work. elsewhere Plus500 advanced by 4.1pc, or 62p, to 1573p as the online trading group said that its annual profits would come in ‘significantly’ ahead of market expectations.
In the transport sector National Express said it would not sweeten its offer for rival Stagecoach despite being gazumped by German asset manager DWs.
national express fell 0.9pc, or 2.2p, to 247.6p and stagecoach was off 0.4pc, or 0.4p, at 104.2p.
Miner Vast Resources rocketed 44.6pc, or 0.37p, to 1.2p after repaying the outstanding bonds it owed, easing fears existing investors could be diluted by the issue of new shares to repay the debt.
Net Scientific surged 21pc, or 14.5p, to 83.5p after what it described as ‘impressive performance evaluation results’ from a Covid antibody test being developed by its subsidiary Proaxsis.
And RWS Holdings fell 18.7pc, or 82.6p, to 360p after bid interest from a Hong Kong private equity group in the language services group evaporated.