Proactive Investors -
- FTSE 100 rallied from a session low of 7,239.23
- NY stocks seen up ahead of inflation data
- Sterling hits 15-month high after strong wages growth
Hiring plans increasing
UK companies were the most upbeat about their trading prospects in 10 months in June and their hiring plans increased again but rising interest rates could prompt consumers to rein in spending, according to a survey by accountants BDO, Reuters reported.
BDO said their measure of business optimism hit its highest since August 2022, helped by the survey's gauge of inflation pressure dropping to its lowest in nearly two years.
The survey's employment index posted its fifth consecutive monthly increase with rises in the number of self-employed and part-time workers, despite a slowdown in output growth with manufacturers seeing the worst output reading since May 2020.
Tasty partnership
Waitrose has partnered with Uber (NYSE:UBER) Eats in a multi-year partnership to provide customers with deliveries in “as little as 20 minutes.”
The pair have now launched in five stores across London, Waitrose’s owner John Lewis Partnership said in a statement.
Locations include Finchley Road, West Hampstead, Clerkenwell, St Katharine Docks and Greenwich, with customers having to pay a delivery charge on average of somewhere between £0 and £3.99.
Waitrose hopes to roll out the service in 200 stores across the UK by the end of August, including in Wales and Scotland.
The Uber Eats partnership builds on Waitrose’s current agreement with Deliveroo and expands the retailer’s presence with third parties.
A quick glance at some of today’s risers and fallers
Risers
STM (LON:STMG) - up 69% to 46.2p: The company said it reached an agreement in principle for a possible takeover which values the firm at 70p per share, a roughly 162% premium on Monday’s close. Shares, unsurprisingly, rocketed 100% to 54p.
Ondo InsurTech (LON:ONDO) - up 10% to 23.5p: Shares gained 10% after the company confirmed it had reached an agreement to restructure a five-year loan note. The loan note provides additional non-dilutive financing to support the roll-out of its LeakBot system.
Intuitive Investments (LON:IIG) - up 16% to 5.8p: Shares rallied on Tuesday after the investment company revealed that it has named Sir Nigel Rudd as its next chairman. Rudd has chaired a number of listed companies over the past 25 years, such as automotive retailer Pendragon, glazing manufacturer Pilkington, pharmacy group Alliance Boots and Heathrow airport, and has also been deputy chairman of Barclays (LON:BARC).
Empire Metals (LON:EEEE) - up 10% to 2.4p: Empire Metals rose 10% as it said petrography and mineralogical work at Pitfield had possibly identified a new type of titanium deposit. House broker SP Angel said discoveries nearby backed up the possibility of a commercial prospect, though added no one is ever going down as deep as 6km, which is where 3D images suggest the anomaly starts.
Fallers
Predator Oil & Gas (LON:PRDP) - down 13% to 11.8p: Shares traded down some 13% in Tuesday deals after its latest well data analysis for the MOU-4 well in Morocco. Two of four prospects seen in initial drill results have been ruled out through wireline data analysis, with one lacking “structural closure” and another “impacted by poor borehole conditions.”