FTSE Live: Latest news, analysis and insight from the City team

Gross sales of gold bars jumped by 53% over Christmas, in keeping with the Royal Mint, which has additionally witnessed a rising demand for the dear metallic from millennials.

The Mint mentioned gross sales of 1g and 5g gold bars elevated by 53% year-on-year throughout November and December 2020 – maybe suggesting an uplift in individuals giving gold as a present.

Within the final quarter of 2020, The Royal Mint launched particular version 1g and 5g gold bars for Diwali and Christmas, which it mentioned contributed to important development as customers sought out funding items.

It additionally recorded a 32% enhance in youthful clients, aged 22 to 37 years previous, shopping for gold throughout 2020 because the coronavirus disaster unfolded.

Gold is usually seen as a “secure haven” funding, notably in occasions of uncertainty and disaster, however as with different investments – costs can go down in addition to up.

A slice of Metropolis historical past comes underneath menace at present because the London Metallic Change is claimed to be mulling the closure of its well-known “open outcry” buying and selling, the place merchants holler their purchase and promote orders at one another face-to-face, speaking with hand alerts.

The LME is the final bastion of open outcry buying and selling within the Metropolis. 

Bloomberg mentioned LME was considering of ending the century-old follow of buying and selling in “the Ring”.

It has been closed since March attributable to social distancing and the market is now contemplating transferring buying and selling digital completely, it mentioned.

Cambridge Cognition, whose expertise helps prescribed drugs companies take a look at sufferers’ mind well being in drug trials, noticed its shares surge by a fifth after reporting document gross sales for final 12 months.

Order consumption closed at £12.7 million, up 158% on the earlier 12 months’s £4.9 million. The present order backlog is £11 million, of which £6 million will probably be booked for 2021.

Covid meant some trials have been quickly suspended however it pushed firms in direction of extra distant trials which ought to profit CC’s cloud primarily based merchandise.

Outcomes for the 12 months have been barely forward of expectations, driving the shares up 20.7%.

Constructing merchandise group Alumasc’s shares are actually up 24% after a robust buying and selling assertion for the previous six months.

Chief govt Paul Hooper mentioned the board was not contemplating resuming the pre-Covid dividend for shareholders within the mild of double digit development in revenues and return on gross sales.

He mentioned the group was watching intently authorities plans for modifications to the Assist to Purchase and stamp obligation reliefs however that vaccines and mass testing ought to counterbalance any adverse modifications.

Aptitude Software program, the monetary administration software program group, mentioned it had received two massive service agreements with North American insurance coverage firms and had a robust fourth quarter.

Annual recurring income jumped 11% to £31.2 million final 12 months on the debt-free enterprise and Aptitude mentioned the approaching 12 months ought to be forward of earlier expectations.

Superdry shares are actually down 18% after this morning’s monetary outcomes included a “going concern” discover on the corporate.

The group mentioned “a fabric uncertainty exists and should solid important doubt on the group’s capacity to proceed as a going concern…”

Shops have been closed via the Covid disaster however the group mentioned its administrators had a “cheap expectation” it had assets to proceed working.

Shares in Web of Issues tech supplier Telit Communications fell 5% after it mentioned revenues fell 10% final 12 months and electronics big Philips was suing it.

Philips is claimed to personal patents utilized in sure Telit merchandise and is suing within the US Worldwide Commerce Fee and Delaware courts.

“Telit is reviewing these claims with its exterior advisers and can reply sooner or later,” it mentioned.

CEO Paolo del Pino mentioned the slightness of the income decline confirmed its resilience throughout Covid at a time of diminished shopper demand. 

Telit not too long ago ditched early stage talks to be taken over by Swiss rival U-blox.

HSBC will shut 82 branches throughout the nation, the corporate has introduced.

Websites will begin shutting their doorways completely from April 23, beginning with Edinburgh’s Princes Avenue department, with roughly three closing every week till the top of September.

HSBC mentioned the Covid-19 pandemic has seen a better shift to on-line banking though insisted the closures weren’t solely associated to the lockdowns and restrictions launched.

Employees in branches dealing with closure are additionally anticipated to be redeployed to different branches and websites inside 15 miles of their properties, the financial institution mentioned.

Tech producer Microsaic raised £5 million in a share inserting with new and present traders that may put it aside from collapsing into administration.

The corporate makes mass spectrometers, which measure the plenty of isotopes and molecules and are utilized in all kinds of pharmaceutical laboratories to develop new medicines. It specialises in making notably small devices, and has greater than 60 patents.

However it was hit laborious by the Covid disaster as many shoppers’ websites have been closed and funding choices postponed.

It had warned in December that, after failing to discover a purchaser, it it may find yourself going into administration. That has now been halted due to the promise of the lifeline funding.

Gerard Brandon, a tech entrepreneur, is being introduced in as chairman and has agreed to subscribe for shares. Dr Nigel Burton, a former banker and director of a number of different Goal companies, has additionally agreed to purchase shares and turn out to be a non-executive director.

The street to restoration for infrastructure group Kier took it through the Blackwall and Rotherhithe tunnels at present after its shares surged on the again of a significant £200 million contract.

Its cope with Transport for London palms Kier duty for sustaining and managing pumping stations and 10 street tunnels within the capital over the following eight years from April.

The contract was revealed alongside a greater than anticipated replace on buying and selling within the second half of 2020, having received locations on long-term frameworks value as much as £11 billion in sectors together with well being and training.

It additionally highlighted progress in direction of annual value financial savings of £105 million and mentioned it was nearing a deal to promote its loss-making housebuilding division. In accordance with Sky Information, non-public fairness tycoon Man Palms is among the many remaining bidders for the Kier Dwelling arm.

A sequence of revenue downgrades in recent times have dragged shares decrease, hitting simply 43p in November from 1,400p in 2017. They have been 13% greater at present, up 9.7p to 84.8p.

The development by FTSE All-Share inventory Kier got here throughout an upbeat session for the London market, with consideration firmly targeted on extra particulars of Joe Biden’s fiscal stimulus plan and the resumption of Wall Avenue’s earnings season.

The FTSE 100 index climbed 11.12 factors to six,732.14, with HSBC 10.55p greater at 413.55p on hopes that it’s going to quickly resume dividend funds. The remainder of sector was underneath strain, nevertheless, with Barclays down 3p to 148.3p and Commonplace Chartered off 7.6p to 483.3p.

Within the FTSE 250 index, robust figures from on-line home equipment enterprise AO World have been offset by its warning of upper coronavirus-related prices. Shares fell 24p from their latest document excessive to 353.5p, though UK gross sales jumped 67% within the Christmas buying and selling interval.