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FTSE 100 edges higher despite disappointing updates from big names

Published: 23:08 08 May 2013 AEST

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Despite adverse reactions to results from big hitters Standard Chartered (LON:STAN), InterContinental Hotels (LON:IHG), CRH (LON:CRH) and Sainsbury (LON:SBRY), the Footsie is clinging on to the morning’s gains.

A couple of stocks that have pleased the market with trading updates are fashion chain Next (LON:NXT) and accountancy software group Sage (LON:SGE).

The FTSE 100 is up 13 points to 6,570, while the mid-tier index, the FTSE 250, is doing better still, up 54 at 14,156.

Down among the tiddlers, iron ore and manganese explorer Ferrex (LON:FRX) rose after completing an agreement to raise its stake in the Mebaga iron ore project in Gabon to 82%.

Ferrex will issue 40mln new shares at a price of 2.5p to acquire an additional 17% of Ressources Equatoriales, the company that holds the Mebaga licence.

The new shares, which are being issued to minority shareholders in Ressources Equatoriales, will represent 4.97% of the enlarged share capital of Ferrex.

Oxford Pharmascience, up 2%, is wanted after it announced the results of a study on mice which showed that its OXPzero Ibuprofen material reduces the irritation and ulcerating damage of ibuprofen.

If the results are repeated in humans, then that will be great news for pain sufferers who cannot abide the side effects of taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs); these include ulcers and bleeding, and in extreme cases can lead to significant poor health or even death.

The NSAIDs market is an absolutely massive one, with around US$12bn a year spent on this class of drugs. If Oxford can crack the problem of gastrointestinal side effects then the market will be even bigger, and the UK company would be set to grab a significant slice of it.

Beowulf Mining (LON:BEM) has submitted an in-depth application to the Swedish authorities for an Exploitation Concession for its Kallak North iron ore deposit.

“This represents a significant step forward in the development of our flagship Kallak iron ore project and demonstrates our belief in its potential,” said executive chairman Clive Sinclair-Poulton in an operational update.

The assessment process by the appropriate Swedish authorities is currently expected to take four-to-nine months.

The successful receipt of an Exploitation Concession in due course would grant Beowulf the right to carry out mineral exploitation for a 25-year period.

Union Jack Oil (ISDX:UJOP) will participate in an upcoming drill programme on the Wressle prospect in Lincolnshire.

It has signed a deal with operator Egdon Resources (LON:EDR) to take an 8.33% stake in the licence that contains Wressle.

To earn this stake Union Jack will pay a sixth of the well costs.

Gold miner Kryso Resources (LON:KYS) took a hit after announcing it is to set up a new holding company based in the Cayman Islands ahead of a possible switch of listing to Hong Kong from AIM.

Existing Kryso shares will be cancelled and shareholders will receive shares in the new company on a one-for-one basis.
Kryso said the change reflects the fact that the majority of its shareholders are now based in China and Hong Kong and are more familiar with Cayman holding company structures.

The new structure will also help with future M&A activity and better prepare the group for a foreign listing and accompanying fundraising.

The FTSE AIM All-Share is virtually unchanged at 715.18.

Australian Strategic Materials signs US$600 million LoI

Rowena Smith, CEO and managing director of Australian Strategic Materials Ltd (ASX:ASM, OTC:ASMMF), joins Jonathan Jackson in the Proactive studio to discuss the company’ s Dubbo Project, in Central West New South Wales. This project aims to extract and process critical minerals and rare earth...

6 hours, 24 minutes ago