Rates, stakes and offers

Thursday 17 December 2015 

The blue-chip index opened strongly, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street and in Asia, as investors welcomed the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate rise, the first increase in nearly a decade.

“The Fed’s decision came as no real surprise to anyone and there was a palpable sense of relief that the move has finally been made,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“Increasing rates while global growth remains lacklustre at best may be risky but the Fed is giving the US economy a vote of confidence and is clearly encouraged by considerable domestic progress with consumer spending growth firm and strong job creation figures.

“AstraZeneca (LSE:AZN) made early gains after bolstering its blood cancer treatment portfolio by taking a 55% stake in Acerta Pharma. AZ is making an upfront payment of $2.5bn with a further unconditional payment of $1.5bn on receipt of the first regulatory approval for acalabrutinib in the US, or the end of 2018.

“Investors have welcomed the lapsing of Capita’s (LSE:CPI) offer for Xchanging (LSE:XCH). Capita’s shares were up by more than 3.3% in early trading. CSC Computer Sciences International Operations has agreed a recommended offer for Xchanging, and Capita announced it would not be revising its offer.”

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