London’s stock market had a quiet day on Monday as holiday-thinned trading limited directional bias. The FTSE 100 rose by 0.2% to 7,728.50, the FTSE 250 inched up 0.1% to 19,216.90, and the AIM All-Share closed 0.3% higher at 756.33.
In the FTSE 100, AstraZeneca gained 2.6% after completing its $1.1 billion acquisition of Icosavax, a US biopharmaceutical company. Icosavax is now AstraZeneca’s subsidiary in Seattle, focusing on vaccine development.
NatWest shares dropped 2% as it announced a share buyback programme of up to £300 million, running until July 18.
In the FTSE 250, Currys shares surged by 36% as Chinese e-commerce firm JD.com expressed interest in acquiring the consumer electronics retailer. Currys had rejected a £702.8 million takeover proposal from US private equity firm Elliott Investment Management.
Bank of Georgia rose by 6.6% following its $303.6 million acquisition of Armenia’s Ameriabank, considering it an attractive addition to its portfolio.
On London’s AIM, SpaceandPeople shares soared by 49% as the retail space provider projected revenue slightly above market expectations, reaching £5.8 million for the year ended December 31.
FTSE All-Share Gainers
Currys 36.36%, Xps Pensions 8.61%, Bank Of Georgia Group 6.56%, Speedy Hire 5.97%, Wag Payment 5.77%, Enquest 5.75%, Gore Street En. 5.58%, Petra Diamonds 4.88%, Abrdn Euro Log 4.63%, MJGleeson 4.33%.
FTSE All-Share Fallers
Xaar -10.61%, Centrica -5.97%, ASOS -5.6%, Indivior -4.06%, Lsl Prop -3.86%, Topps Tiles -3.44%, Capital -3.41%, Pharos Energy -3.38%, Oxford Biomedica -3.06%, City Lon Inv -3.04%.
