Archived article
Please note that tax, investment, pension and ISA rules can change and the information and any views contained in this article may now be inaccurate.
“The FTSE 100 opened in negative territory after sterling's gains and a mixed performance on Wall Street overnight dragged on the market,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.
“Model train maker Hornby was a double-digit faller after warning that full-year losses would be worse than expected. The group decided in October that it would no longer offer large quantities of stock at a discount and warned then that this would have a material impact on its results. That decision and continuing problems with late product deliveries meant that sales over Christmas were below forecasts. Hornby aims to weather the storm and will hope that a leaner cost base and new products will eventually give it a better foundation to build a profitable business. Hornby’s shares were down by 13.5% in early trading.
“Kier topped the FTSE 250 in early trading after a bullish trading update. The property, residential, construction and services group is on track to deliver double digit profit growth following a good first half. Kier has leading market positions in infrastructure services, building and development which provide the platform to support further growth and position the group well for the future. Kier is also taking full responsibility for the Highways England smart motorways schemes on which it had been working in joint venture with Carillion. Kier’s shares were up by more than 10%.
“Pub and brewing group Greene King edged lower as pub company sales slipped despite a record Christmas Day. Like-for-like sales were up 1.6% for the two weeks covering Christmas and New Year's Eve but sales either side of the two Christmas weeks were slower. This reflected the tough underlying trading environment and the impact of snow. Greene King’s shares were down by over 0.5%.”
These articles are for information purposes only and are not a personal recommendation or advice.