UK Edition
Market report: Brexit relief rally and swoop for Peppa Pig maker lift FTSE 250
Brexit-exposed stocks found relief on the mid-cap markets as global equities were rocked by the latest twists in the trade war between the US and China.
The FTSE 250 was a rare bright spot across all of Europe’s stock markets, closing up 30.81 points at 19,236.13. The middleweight group was pulled up sharply by Peppa Pig-owner Entertainment One, which rose 141.6p to 585p after a takeover offer from US toy giant Hasbro.
That rise made up most of the lift, but a handful of companies seen as vulnerable to Brexit also managed to hold gains, in a relief rally following Boris Johnson’s visit to Europe for meetings with German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron.
Intu Properties was the FTSE 250’s second-biggest riser, closing the day up 2.63p at 34.85p despite a lack of significant news on its operations.
The retail landlord, which owns properties including the Trafford Centre, has had its share price drop severely over recent years, caught between pressure on the high street and recent gloom over UK-focused companies.
Despite yesterday’s rise, it’s share price is less than a tenth of where it stood in early 2015.
Another landlord, Bullring-owner Hammerson, closed up 8.5p at 227.5p.
The company, which has seen its share price wane steadily as it feels the impact of pressures on the high street, has been a fairly popular target for short-sellers, who are circling large firms that mainly operate in the UK.
It has lost a chunk of value since it rejected a takeover bid by rival Klepierre last year.
On Wednesday, Hammerson announced former AIG executive James Lenton would become its new chief financial officer.
Sirius Minerals continued its meagre rally, closing 0.46p up at 10.19p. Its share price, which has been steadily declining since mid-2018, took a sharp drop earlier this month after the firm pulled plans for a $500m (£408m) bond sale, blaming “current market conditions” for the decision.
IT firm Computacenter was unable to hold early gains. It closed up 25p at £14.24, having been higher in the morning after saying it expected its full-year profit growth to hit record levels. The company, which supplies equipment to private and public-sector organisations in Europe and the US, saw its revenue for the first six months rise to £2.43bn, from £2.01bn the year before.
Berenberg analyst Benjamin May called the results “mediocre”, while UBS’s Michael Briest suggested strong growth was based on public sector spending, which may have weakened since.
Of the mid-cap faller, Metro Bank gave up 15.6p to close at an all-time low of 268.6p. It has shed more than 93pc of its value since its peak early last year, damaged by criticisms of its governance and an accounting blip. Premier Oil also did poorly, falling 4.08p to 74.9p as the global oil price sank.