30th Dec 2024 08:52
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London registered a softer open on Monday, with barely a handful of the FTSE 100 in the green, in uninspiring trade as the year draws to a close.
The FTSE 100 index opened down 29.94 points, 0.4%, at 8,119.84. The FTSE 250 was down 54.73 points, 0.3%, at 20,433.92, and the AIM All-Share was up 0.90 of a point, 0.1%, at 716.09.
The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.3% at 814.35, the Cboe UK 250 down 0.2% at 17,888.37, and the Cboe Small Companies was flat at 15,841.08.
The CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt were both down 0.3%.
"European markets are set to open lower, with a quiet week ahead offering little in the way of economic data or corporate news to drive sentiment," Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Matt Britzman commented.
The FTSE 100 is up around 5% so far in 2024.
"But, yet again, UK performance pales in comparison to returns seen in tech-dominated markets across the pond," Britzman added.
The S&P 500 in New York, despite returning some progress on Friday, has shot up by around a quarter so far in 2024.
In New York on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 0.8%, the S&P 500 shed 1.1% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.5%.
Stocks in Asia were mixed. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo ended down 1.0%. The Shanghai Composite added 0.2%, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was 0.2% lower. Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.3%.
In Tokyo, Nissan shares look set to end the year on weak footing, as a bounce earlier this month gives way to some profit taking. Shares in the carmaker slumped 5.7% on Monday.
Honda and Nissan last week confirmed they are in discussions regarding a potential business integration via a joint holding company. The two automakers, Japan's second and third largest after Toyota Motor Corp, have signed a memorandum of understanding to evaluate the proposal.
Over in New York, it was tech shares that kept a lid on equity market progress at the back end of last week.
Among those to fall was streaming service Netflix, in focus amid the release of the second instalment of hit show Squid Game. Shares fell 1.8% on Friday.
"Coming back to our Magnificent 7 stocks, they lost more than 2% on Friday. Netflix wasn’t an exception to the trend as the new Squid Game made a less-than-ideal debut with just 64% rating on popcornmeter on rotten tomatoes – very low for a show that’s first season saw a historical attention from watchers around the world, became the platform's most-watched show at its launch, with over 142 million member households viewing it within the first 28 days, and helped Netflix add millions of new subscribers to its platform. The disappointment of the second season not only weighed on Netflix shares, but pulled the related Korean shares lower as well. Dexter studios for example sank 24% on Friday and is down by another 5% today in Seoul," Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya commented.
Among London blue-chips, Airtel Africa's 0.6% gain meant it was the best performer in tepid early dealings. The stock has fallen more than 10% so far in 2024, however.
Trade on Monday is expected to be characterised by low trading volumes, with an abbreviated session on Tuesday not predicted to add any impetus either. Financial markets in London close at 1230 GMT on Tuesday.
Lenders, among the FTSE 100's bright spots in 2024, were on the back foot early Monday. NatWest and Barclays lost 0.6% early Monday but are up more than 80% and over 70%, respectively, so far in 2024.
Recent listing Raspberry Pi Holdings was up 4.5%, among the best in the FTSE 250, continuing its strong start to life on the London market.
The budget computer maker's shares are up more than double from the June initial public offering price of 280p.
Elsewhere in London, Arecor Therapeutics shares rose 7.1% early Monday.
Arecor said it has landed a licensing deal with "one of the world's largest" independent chemicals marketing firms.
The deal is for Arecor's AT351 ready-to-dilute liquid drug offering.
"This follows a successful formulation study collaboration between the two companies, under Arecor's technology partnering model, in which Arecor used its proprietary formulation technology platform, Arestat, to develop a differentiated, RTD liquid formulation of AT351," the biopharmaceutical firm said.
Arecor is to receive an undisclosed upfront payment and stands to net development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments on royalties for global sales.
"The licensee is granted an exclusive, worldwide license to AT351 and its associated intellectual property and will be responsible for all development, regulatory and commercialisation activities. The licensee will seek approval for the product under the US Food & Drug Administration's 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway, with filing expected within 3 years," Arecor added.
The pound was quoted at USD1.2568 early Monday, largely flat from USD1.2588 at the time of the London equities close on Friday. The euro was slightly lower at USD1.0421 from USD1.0429. Against the yen, the dollar rose to JPY157.88 from JPY157.50.
A barrel of Brent oil faded slightly to USD73.60 from USD73.62. Gold traded at USD2,614.06 an ounce, falling from USD2,619.91.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
Comments and questions to [email protected]
Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.