FTSE shakes off Wall Street hangover, Lookers takeover, Frasers piles into Currys and Revolution Beauty spat takes a new turn

“A slight wobble on Wall Street last night caused a bit of a hangover on Asian and European markets, but the damage looks relatively minor,” says Russ Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell.

“The FTSE 100 dipped at the market open but soon clawed back all of its losses as investors piled into tobacco and pharmaceutical companies – defensive industries which theoretically see consistent demand whether economic conditions are good or bad.

“The rest of the week could be more challenging for UK stocks with inflation figures out tomorrow, followed by the next UK interest rate decision on Thursday. A rate hike to 4.75% looks highly likely.

“There was no shortage of drama among London-listed stocks big and small, with takeovers, stake building, profit warnings and legal threats among the key themes.”

Lookers/Car Retail Sector

“Lookers received a takeover offer, continuing a trend that has seen the UK-listed car retail sector shrink in recent years including successful bids for Marshall Motors and Cambria Automobiles as well as a failed one for Pendragon. Scale matters in this industry and operators are always looking for a way to plant more flags, be it locally or internationally.

“Investors will be looking closely at Motorpoint in this regard as its shares last night hit a new all-time low of 102.75p, having lost 73% of its value since September 2021 thanks to a pullback in car prices, with the pains of higher interest rate costs and the cost-of-living pressures hurting demand for vehicles. Might it be the next company in the sector vulnerable to a bid?”

Frasers/Currys

“Frasers was among the top FTSE 100 risers after last night saying it had more than doubled its position in Currys to 8.89% by selling put options on the stock.

“The retailer recently built up a 21.3% stake in AO, thereby giving it exposure to the electricals sector and the investment in Currys via financial instruments continues this theme.”

Revolution Beauty

“Hot on the heels of Boohoo saying it wanted a boardroom shake-up at Revolution Beauty, the makeup group outlined potential legal proceedings against its founder and former CEO, Adam Minto.

“Revolution suffered delays to having its accounts audited and its shares were suspended, and now it wants to recover ‘material sums’ relating to the costs incurred from these issues.”

These articles are for information purposes only and are not a personal recommendation or advice.