Proactive Investors -
- FTSE 100 rises 40 points
- UK government unveils green strategy
- Disappointment for Drax , boost for hydrogen and small nuclear
‘Green Thursday’ triggers big stock moves
Its all about energy on so-called ‘green Thursday’ with shares in British coal miner Drax down 5%, at 546.5p, whilst offshore engineer Petrofac (LON:PFC) saw its shares rocket some 60% as it unveiled a wind-farm deal worth up to €13bn and comprising six major projects.
Plans put forward by Drax were rejected under the government’s new carbon capture programme.
In London, the FTSE 100 moved 38 points higher to trade at just over 7,600.
Elsewhere in the morning’s headlines greetings cards e-commerce firm Moonpig said it recorded its largest ever week of sales ahead of Mother’s Day. The group reconfirmed full-year revenue guidance of £320mln.
Revolution Beauty entered into a new financing agreement with its banks of £32mln, down from the previous £40mln arrangement. The revised deal reflects the group's cash requirements and gives the business sufficient liquidity, it said.
FTSE 100 builds gains, up 40 points or 0.5% to 7604
Topping the top-100 leaderboard is Ocado Group PLC (LON:OCDO), continuing its gains after the update from its UK joint venture with M&S earlier in the week.
SSE PLC (LON:SSE) is also among the top risers after raising its earnings guidance this morning, despite falling behind planned renewable energy production targets by 13% in March due to poor weather conditions.
This comes on the same morning that Downing Street unveiled its new energy strategy, 'Powering up Britain', though this has led to disappointment for some companies, including Drax Group (LSE:LON:DRX).
Even though a big commitment to carbon capture was at the centre of the plans, the government rejected Drax's plans for a new carbon capture programme.
Analysts at RBC said the government's decision not to put Drax into its Track 1 project negotiation list was a surprise, given the company’s importance to energy security.
The government also revealed it would grant £240mln worth of funding for green hydrogen projects, alongside launching public body Great British Nuclear (GBN) to aid the first small modular reactor competition, due to begin in April.
GBN’s first job to launch a new competition to select the best Small Modular Reactor technologies – of clear interest for Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (LON:RR) – "for development by autumn".
On hydrogen, a shortlist of 20 projects has been announced to take to the next stage in the first electrolytic hydrogen allocation round, with the government’s ambition for the UK to be generating "enough to power all of London for a year by 2030".
One of the 20 was a £0.5mln grant for Inverness Green Hydrogen Project, a development by Getech Group PLC's (AIM:GTC) H2 Green arm.
City of London loses lead
London has lost its sole lead as the world’s top global financial centre, according to research by the City of London Corporation, the first year that the UK capital has not been the clear leader.
London and New York have tied for the top spot and the findings from the City’s governing body will add to concerns over the competitiveness of the Square (NYSE:SQ) Mile.
The survey showed London received an overall competitiveness score of 60, up from 59 last year, but New York increased its score by two points to equal London. Singapore placed in third, scoring 51, while Frankfurt scored 46, Paris 43 and Tokyo 35.
Chris Hayward, policy chair at the City of London Corporation, said London’s “competitive advantage is at risk”, adding: “A long-term plan to stimulate growth in the financial and professional services sector is needed.”
The City of London Corporation has begun working on its own proposals to ensure the UK financial and professional services sector remains internationally competitive over the next decade.