Today's market overview
Equities have continued the minor sell off seen yesterday amid a lack of supporting economic data this morning.
IC TIP UPDATES:
Simon Thompson recommendationTrifast ( TRI) has announced the proposed acquisition of Italian industrial fasteners group VIC for €27m.
Simon Thompson recommendation Netplay TV ( NPT) says its SuperCasino.com brand will be the headline sponsor of this year's Big Brother and Celebrity Big Brother series. The company also reports strong growth since the start of the second quarter with average daily revenues up by 17 per cent.
KEY STORIES:
Sainsbury ( SBRY) has held its market share at 16.8 per cent in a tough grocery market according to full year results which showed underlying group sales up 2.8 per cent to £26.4bn, like for like sales up just 0.2 per cent and underlying profit before tax up 5.3 per cent at £798m.
First quarter results from Legal & General ( LGEN) showed net cash generation up 21 per cent to £301m with total assets under management up by 5 per cent to £462.6bn. Annuity sales were boosted by a bulk annuities deal with ICI Pension Fund covering £3bn of liabilities. Individual annuity sales were hit hard by the changes in the recent Budget, recording a sales slump of 40 per cent.
G4S ( GFS) says its outlook is improving, especially since being given the green light by the UK government to bid for work recently. Trading in the three months to March saw organic revenue growth of 5 per cent with emerging markets delivering organic revenue growth of 16 per cent.
Engineer Meggitt ( MGGT) has announced a 'multi-million dollar' contract with Petronas for heat exchanging technology alongside a trading statement which suggests everything is in line with expectations with growth in civil contracts being partially offset by weaker military business.
OTHER COMPANY NEWS:
Property website Rightmove ( RMV) is thriving in the booming housing market with page impressions up by 14 per cent in the opening four months of the year and a 30 per cent increase in enquiries for customers to a record 14.8m.
Insurer Esure ( ESUR) has seen its total in-force policies rise by 9.5 per cent year on year in the first quarter but gross written premiums were flat due to weakness in motor premiums.
Information services specialist Experian ( EXPN) has announced solid full year results showing organic revenue growth of 5 per cent with total earnings up by 4 per cent to $1.3bn at constant exchange rates.
BBA Aviation ( BBA) says that trading is in line with expectations with group revenue for the first four months of the year up by 1 per cent against last year.
OneSavings Bank, the former Kent Reliance building society which was refinanced by US group JC Flowers, has announced its intention to float in London.
One company which has pulled its intended float is Passivsystems, which offers energy services for homes, in particular those with solar panels, citing market conditions.
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