Latest news with #London-traded
Malaysian Reserve
02-07-2025
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
London IPOs hit 28-Year low amid AstraZeneca exit concerns
LONDON marked the slowest first half-year for IPO volume since 1997, a grim milestone punctuated by a report that AstraZeneca Plc's chief executive officer wants to move the company's listing to the US. With companies going where liquidity is abundant, a steady drip of firms being taken private, and too few initial public offerings coming along to replace them, pressure is mounting to reverse the slow but inexorable shrinking of London's historic trading venue. More than $100 billion worth of London-listed companies have announced or executed plans to move to New York in recent years, Bloomberg calculations show. AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot wants to move the drugmaker's stock listing to the US, the Times reported Monday, citing his frustration with the UK's regulatory regime for drugs and concern that the country's life sciences industry is falling behind the US and China. An exit from the exchange by the most valuable British company would send shockwaves across the financial sector, and risk inviting more firms to join the confidence-eroding flow of listings leaving the City. That would make the job of attracting new IPOs even harder. Companies listing in London raised less than £200 million ($274 million) in the last six months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, and turnover for stocks like AstraZeneca is far greater for its US depositary receipts than in London. A move by AstraZeneca would accelerate the fearsome trend of companies voluntarily moving their listings to the US. Wise Plc is the latest of the bunch, revealing last month it would relocate its primary listing to New York in search of better liquidity and new investors, following in the footsteps of Flutter Entertainment Plc, CRH Plc and Indivior Plc. When asked about the prospect of AstraZeneca moving its listing, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesman, Tom Wells, said he wouldn't comment on 'commercial decisions of firm.' A representative for the London Stock Exchange declined to comment. Just as concerning is a trend toward UK-listed companies receiving takeover offers this year, potentially removing them from the exchange. Spectris Plc, Deliveroo Plc, and Assura Plc are among the 48 pending or completed deals since January 1 targeting London-traded firms, data compiled by Bloomberg show. 'The scale of M&A and lack of IPOs is resulting in a material reduction in the number of UK-listed growth companies,' Charles Hall, head of research at Peel Hunt said in a research note. 'We are seeing continued outflows of UK capital, which need to be addressed through pension, ISA, and stamp duty reform.' Dealmakers say the second half of the year may see a few more IPOs come to market, potentially paving the way for a stronger rebound from 2026. 'We are expecting a tentative recovery in the fourth quarter with a number of transactions not quite getting done before the summer break,' said Tom Bacon, a partner in BCLP's M&A and corporate finance team. 'This will not be the strong re-opening everyone is hoping for, but could start to build some momentum.' Professional services firm MHA Plc was the biggest offering so far in 2025, raising £98 million on London's junior bourse AIM. Meanwhile, Glencore Plc-backed Cobalt Holdings Plc called off what could have been London's largest IPO in two years, and fast-fashion retailer Shein has shifted its IPO preparations to Hong Kong from London, people familiar with the matter have said. Some companies that have been reported to be considering a London IPO this year are Italy's NewPrinces SpA, Banco Santander SA-backed payments firm Ebury and Uzbek gold miner Navoi Mining & Metallurgical Co. The biggest boost would come next year from the planned IPO of €19 billion ($22.4 billion) software giant Visma. Private equity group Hg Capital tentatively picked the British capital for the listing, attracted by London's listing reforms, particularly an incoming rule allowing euro-denominated stocks into flagship FTSE indexes, Bloomberg has reported. 'It doesn't feel like there's a queue of IPOs lined up in London, but there are some candidates there,' Andreas Bernstorff, head of equity capital markets at BNP Paribas SA said. London is arguably hardest-hit among European exchanges, but it isn't alone. Europe suffered its worst first half for IPO volumes in more than a decade, with bourses in Milan, Paris and Zurich seeing lower volumes than London, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Part of the issue this year has been the bout of volatility unleashed by US President Donald Trump's tariffs, which shut the market for weeks and prompted some issuers to delay their plans for going public. Listings in London where capital was not being raised provided a ray of hope. Last month, Anglo American's Valterra Platinum Ltd. completed a secondary listing in London, following in the footsteps of International Paper Co., which added a London listing as part of its takeover of rival DS Smith Plc. Greece's Metlen Energy & Metals SA said last week it expects to start trading in London in early August, although it won't raise any funds. To be sure, the UK was the busiest venue in Europe for overall share sales volume so far this year given the boon in follow-on issuances, including £5 billion worth of shares sold by Pfizer Inc. in Sensodyne-maker Haleon Plc. Rosebank Industries Plc, which listed last year on the AIM exchange, was able to raise £1.14 billion from investors to fund an acquisition in the US. 'For companies that have a compelling equity story and a strong management team, the London market functions very effectively,' said Jonathan Parry, a capital markets partner at White & Case. –BLOOMBERG
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Top Stock Movers Now: United Airlines, AMD, Lockheed Martin, and More
U.S. equities rose and oil futures fell at midday on hopes the fighting between Israel and Iran will ease. Airline and cruise line shares advanced on optimism fuel prices won't jump because of the Middle East fighting. Tumbling oil prices sent shares of oil producers lower.U.S. equities jumped and oil prices plunged at midday on optimism the fighting between Israel and Iran will be contained. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all added 1%. Shares of United Airlines (UAL), Carnival Corp. (CCL), and others in the airline and cruise line industries took off on hopes an easing of Middle East tensions will help keep fuel costs from rising. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) was the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 when Piper Sandler boosted the price target, pointing to enthusiasm for its latest product launches, especially its Helios server. Shares of Dish Network owner EchoStar (SATS) soared following a report that President Donald Trump had intervened to try to settle an issue that threatened the satellite TV provider's valuable spectrum licenses. MGM Resorts International (MGM) stock gained as BetMGM, which it co-owns with London-traded Entain, raised its full-year outlook. Shares of rival casino operators Las Vegas Sands (LVS) and Wynn Resorts (WYNN) also advanced. A potentially limited conflict in the Middle East that drove down crude prices sent shares of APA (APA) and rival oil producers lower. Also falling were shares of defense contractors Lockheed Martin (LMT) and Northrop Grumman (NOC). Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT) shares plunged after the biotech company reported a second patient with Duchenne muscular dystrophy who was taking its Elevidys treatment died of acute liver failure (ALF). Gold futures fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was little changed. The U.S. dollar lost ground to the euro and pound, and was little changed against the yen. Major cryptocurrencies traded higher. Read the original article on Investopedia Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MGM Resorts International Stock Rises on Lifted BetMGM Outlook
MGM Resorts International (MGM) shares surged over 6% in intraday trading Monday as the casino operator and London-traded firm Entain lifted their full-year outlook for their co-owned BetMGM sports betting and iGaming operator. "BetMGM's positive momentum seen during 1Q 2025 has continued for the period 2Q 2025 to June 13, 2025, with strong Net Revenue growth across both iGaming and Online Sports, driven by handle growth," MGM and Entain said. The firms added that trading "is broadly consistent with" the 34% year-over-year revenue growth in the first quarter. As a result, the companies now expect BetMGM's fiscal 2025 revenue of "at least $2.6 billion," up from the prior outlook range of $2.4 billion to $2.5 billion, and EBITDA of "at least $100 million," compared to "EBITDA positive" previously. The news also lifted shares of gaming rivals Wynn Resorts (WYNN) and Las Vegas Sands (LVS) on Monday. They both were up roughly 5% in recent trading, joining MGM Resorts International among the top S&P 500 gainers. Read the original article on Investopedia
Reuters
08-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Iron ore, coking coal hold up amid tariff chaos, but for how long?: Russell
LAUNCESTON, Australia, April 8 (Reuters) - Iron ore is probably the commodity most exposed to China and while the price of the steel raw material has eased, it has held up better than other major commodities like crude oil and copper in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff turmoil. Iron ore futures traded on the Singapore Exchange ended at $99.54 a metric ton on Monday, a three-month low and down 4.1% from the $103.77 close on April 2, the day Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on U.S. trading partners. The Singapore contracts largely reflect the views of market participants outside of China, which buys about three-quarters of all global seaborne iron ore and produces just over half of the world's steel. But even China's domestic iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange have held up, losing just 3.6% since April 2 to Monday's close of 762.50 yuan ($104.31) a ton. In contrast to iron ore's relatively modest declines, Brent crude futures shed 14.1% from April 2 to Monday's close of $64.36 a barrel, a four-year low, while London-traded copper contracts dropped 10% to end at $8.732 a ton. China is the world's biggest buyer of crude and copper, but unlike iron ore these commodities have a broader investor base and tend to more rapidly reflect changes in market sentiment and dynamics. But even so, iron ore's performance seems at odds with Trump's announcement last week of a 34% tariff on U.S. imports from China, which was on top of 20% already imposed. The mercurial U.S. president doubled down on Monday, threatening an additional 50% on imports from China after Beijing responded with a 34% tariff of its own on imports from the United States, as well as export controls on a series of minor metals, many of the critical to defence and technology. If all the threatened tariffs go ahead, China's exports to the United States will face an impost of 104%, which would likely have the effect of ending all trade between the world's two largest economies. OUTLOOK DARKENS In this scenario it's hard to construct a case that iron ore will continue to outperform other major commodities, it's actually easier to see it suffering more. Manufacturing accounts for about 25% of China's steel demand, so any major hit to this sector from weaker demand for exported goods such as appliances and vehicles will flow directly through to steel consumption. The question is whether Beijing will take decisive action to stimulate both parts of the economy hit by tariffs and other sectors not as exposed but capable of helping boost overall economic growth. If China does act to boost its economy through stimulus of sectors such as infrastructure and consumer spending on manufactured goods, it becomes a matter of whether this will be enough to keep steel demand at relatively strong levels. If steel demand and output hold up, then so too should iron ore imports, and thus prices. It's too early to say if iron ore imports are weakening amid the tariff concern, with March data compiled by commodity analysts Kpler suggesting a solid, if unspectacular, result. China imported 102.1 million tons of iron ore in March, up from 84.36 million in February, although that month's total was lower than expected because of weather disruptions in top supplier Australia. The March figure was only slightly below the 104.9 million tons from the same month in 2024, according to Kpler data. In addition to iron ore, the other key steel raw material is metallurgical coal, and it has also shown a somewhat subdued reaction to the escalating tariff war. Singapore Exchange contracts , which track the price of metallurgical coal from Australia, the world's biggest exporter of the fuel also called coking coal, have actually risen, gaining 5.9% from the close on April 2 to end at $186 a ton on Monday. However, the price increase is because of weather-related disruptions in Australia's Queensland state, home to the bulk of the country's metallurgical coal mines. China's coking coal contracts have slipped 3.1% from April 2 to the close of 971.50 yuan a ton on Monday, perhaps a better reflection of some demand concerns emerging amid the tariff uncertainty. The views expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.
