Weekly review

The FTSE 100 ended the short week between Christmas and New Year up 17.56 points, or 0.23%, closing at 7,733.24 on Friday.

Equity view

Wealth and investment manager Kingswood Holdings announced plans on Friday for the conversion of 77,428,443 convertible preference shares, which it issued in 2019. The AIM-traded firm said the conversion was set to be executed in 2024, and would involve HSQ Investment, a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of funds managed or advised by Pollen Street Capital.

Harland & Wolff Group has received permission from ministers to proceed with negotiations for a proposed £200m guaranteed loan facility with UK Export Finance (UKEF) under the Export Development Guarantee Scheme, it announced on Friday. The AIM-traded firm said that to ensure compliance with regulations, UKEF would appoint an independent third party in January to determine an appropriate premium over SONIA.

Gold explorer and developer Panthera Resources reported a total first-half loss of $1.01m, or one cent per share, on Friday, narrowing from the prior year's loss of $1.48m. The AIM-traded firm said during the period, LCM Funding SG completed its due diligence and issued a funding confirmation notice (FCN) for $13.6m, providing Panthera with essential financial support.

Saietta Group reported group income including grants of £1.4m in its first half on Friday, up from £1.3m year-on-year. The AIM-traded company said gross profit remained stable at £0.1m, with a gross margin of 9%, down from 13% in the same period in 2022.

Duke Royalty reported a strong set of third-quarter results on Friday, as well as a follow-on investment in its existing royalty partner, Creō-Tech Industrial Group. The AIM-traded company said it anticipated achieving recurring cash revenue of £6.3m in the period, signifying a noteworthy 12% increase compared to the prior year's £5.6m.

Bank of Georgia Group announced two fresh financing agreements on Thursday, aimed at supporting sustainable initiatives and promoting economic growth in Georgia. In the first announcement, its subsidiary JSC Bank of Georgia inked a multicurrency loan agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB), totaling €50m with a maturity period of up to seven years.

Shares in Sondrel plunged by more than a third on Thursday after the UK semiconductor designer asked staff to defer wages, because of a contract payment delay. The company said it was unable to make December payroll in full after £1.7m of payments from a “Tier 1 automotive” manufacturer, under a contract to design an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), were hit by an unexpected delay and are now expected to be received during January and February 2024.

Corcel updated the market on the drilling progress of the Tobias-14 (TO-14) well within Angola's onshore Block KON-11 on Thursday, where it holds a 20% working interest. The AIM-traded firm said Sonangol, one of Angola's major national hydrocarbon producers, serves as the operator for the project.

Gunsynd announced an investment of CAD 0.35m (£0.2m) into 1911 Gold Corporation, a junior gold development and exploration company based in Manitoba, Canada, on Thursday. The AIM-traded firm said it made the investment from its existing cash resources, with a subscription for 5,833,333 shares at six Canadian cents each.

North American metallurgical coal miner Bens Creek reported a significant first-half milestone on Thursday, as it produced 204,998 tons of clean metallurgical coal, marking a 105% increase compared to the same period last year. The AIM-traded firm said it successfully delivered 18 trains, reflecting a 125% increase from the prior year's figure of eight trains.

Asiamet Resources updated the market on its feasibility-stage BKM copper project in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia on Thursday. The AIM-traded firm said that in terms of the debt finance process, significant progress had been made in December, and a proposal to secure lead arranger status for the project’s debt finance would be submitted to the prospective lead bank’s credit committee in the new year.

Fulcrum Metals reported an operating loss of £0.35m in its first half on Thursday, widening from £0.11m in the same period last year. The AIM-traded firm, which is still pre-revenue, said it achieved several significant milestones in the six months ended 30 September.

Machine learning and data science specialist Insig AI has achieved listing on the United Nations Climate Risk Tool Dashboard, it announced on Thursday. The AIM-traded firm said the dashboard serves as a comprehensive resource offering insights into the functionality of climate risk tools, their compliance with sustainability disclosure standards and regulations, as well as policies governing data quality and sourcing.

Zanaga Iron Ore Company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC), it announced on Thursday, regarding hydroelectric power solutions for the Zanaga Iron Ore Project. The firm said the MoU also included provisions for the funding of the power projects.

Capricorn Energy updated the market on Wednesday, after Woodside Petroleum announced the departure of the floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel from Singapore for the Sangomar field development, offshore Senegal. The London-listed firm said the development could lead to it receiving a contingent payment of either $25m or $50m, as stipulated in the sale and purchase agreement.

Technology investor Tern announced on Wednesday that Device Authority, in which it held a 53.8% shareholding as of 21 November, has secured a series B fundraising round to raise up to $7m in new equity investment. The AIM-traded firm said the funding would consist of $4m from Ten Eleven Ventures and $0.3m from Alsop Louie Capital 3, via the conversion of short-term loans.

Horizonte Minerals announced an interim funding agreement amounting to $20m on Wednesday, aimed at bolstering its financial position as it progressed toward securing a comprehensive funding solution. The AIM-traded firm said the funding package included a $15m senior secured loan facility, and the release of $5m by OMF Fund III, which was previously earmarked for the Vermelho project.

Cellular agriculture investor Agronomics reported a 14% increase in its net asset value per share in its final results on Wednesday, standing at 16.94p on 30 June. The AIM-traded firm recorded a substantial increase in net operating profit, reaching £25.75m for the 2023 financial year, up from £12.92m in 2022.

WH Ireland reported first-half revenue of £10.7m on Wednesday, down from £14.3m year-on-year. The AIM-traded firm put the fall in revenue down to a decline in the wealth management division's revenue, which stood at £6.3mm, compared to £7.3m in the first six months of 2022, and a decrease in the capital markets division's revenue, which slid to £4.4m from £7m.

Aviva is expecting an additional £80m in proceeds from the sale of its stake in Singapore Life Holdings (Singlife) to Sumitomo Life, it announced on Wednesday. The company said the supplementary income arose from a separate transaction in which Sumitomo Life was set to acquire TPG's equity stake in Singlife.

Data intelligence group Mobile Streams revealed on Wednesday that gross profits had "decreased substantially" in the year ended 30 June as gross profit margins nosedived. Gross profits tumbled to £12,000, down from £450,000 a year ago, while gross profit margins decreased from 44% to just 1%, reflecting the inclusion of "significant upfront royalties" on NFT contract revenues. On an underlying earnings level, trading EBITDA came to a loss of £2.8m, widened from 2022's loss of £1.4m.

HgCapital Trust (HGT) announced a partial sale of IRIS Software Group (IRIS) to LGP, a private equity firm based in Los Angeles, on Wednesday. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but the transaction valued its investment in IRIS at £99.8m.

AstraZeneca on Wednesday said it was buying Gracell Biotechnologies, a global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing cell therapies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases, for $1.2bn. Under the terms of the deal, AstraZeneca will acquire all of Gracell’s shares at $2 per share in cash, plus a non-tradable contingent value right of $0.30 per ordinary share payable upon achievement of a specified regulatory milestone.

Economic news

UK house prices fell by a higher-than-expected 1.8% year on year in December, mortgage lender Nationwide said on Friday, as higher borrowing costs and deposit requirements deterred buyers. Expectations were for a 1.4% fall. Prices remained flat on a monthly basis. and Nationwide said a rapid rebound in activity or house prices in 2024 "appears unlikely" as wage growth lagged behind inflation.

Britain's spring budget statement will be delivered on March 6, the Treasury announced on Wednesday, amid suggestions the government may axe inheritance tax in an attempt to narrow a large opinion poll deficit ahead of a General Election which must be called by January 2025. In a statement released during the holiday period when the majority of traders are away from their desks and financial markets are extremely quiet, Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt said he had commissioned the Office for Budget Responsibility to prepare an economic and fiscal forecast to be presented to parliament.

Boxing Day foot traffic saw a slight uptick this year, with a 1.4% increase in the number of shoppers compared to the previous year, according to preliminary data from MRI Software. The analysis firm, formerly known as Springboard, put the rise in footfall down to increased visits to high streets and retail parks. However, when compared to 2019 before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns, footfall on Boxing Day was still down by 30%.

International events

Spanish inflation remained unchanged in December, according to flash estimates released on Friday by the National Statistics Institute. The consumer price index was unchanged this month, after a 0.3% fall in November, surprising economists who had pencilled in a 0.3% increase in prices.

US pending home sales fell in November as all four US regions registered year-on-year declines in transactions. According to the National Association of Realtors, pending home sales fell 5.2% month-on-month, following a revised 8.2% drop in October to hold near record lows.

Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at an accelerated clip in the week ended 23 December, suggesting some softening in the labour market toward the end of the year. According to the Labor Department, initial jobless claims rose by 12,000 to 218,000 last week, above consensus expectations of 210,000.

US mortgage applications dropped 1.5% in the week ended 15 December, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, halting a six-week run of increases. Last week's fall comes despite benchmark Treasury yields continuing to decline following dovish signals sent by policymakers at the Federal Reserve.

China's industrial profits experienced a substantial boost in November, with a double-digit increase of 29.5%, following a much more modest 2.7% rise in October. The surge in profits was primarily fueled by an overall improvement in the manufacturing sector and a notable upswing in industrial output during the same month.