Cambridge Index

JPMorgan’s surprise $2 billion trading loss, coupled with economic growth worries and Eurozone fears, led a retreat in risk appetite and caused global equity markets to fall during the week.
The Cambridge Index fell 1.2% or 120.6 points to 10,027.0, as six out of the top ten index heavyweights ended in the red. Shares of ARM Holdings remained unchanged at 507.0p. DA Davidson upgraded the stock to a “Neutral” rating from an “Underperform”, while Sanford C. Bernstein also raised its recommendation on the stock to a “Market Perform” rating from an “Underperform”. Johnson Matthey, down 2.7%, announced that it would build a new plant in Macedonia at a cost of £50 million to double its capacity, which would help in creating more than 100 jobs.
Xaar rose 2.7% and emerged as the top gainer in the Cambridge Index. Kier Group, up 2.5%, announced that its Executive Director, Michael Sheffield, bought 714 shares in the company on the 11th May 2012 at a price of 1216.8p, bringing his holding to 44,375 shares. Blinkx, up 1.0%, announced that it has entered into a partnership with AnyClip, the company that looks to redefine how people experience online video. Blinkx stated that the partnership would give its users access to clips from over 12,000 feature films in its vast library, from studios including Warner Brothers, Universal Studios, Vivendi Entertainment, First Look and Virgil Films. Other prominent gainers included Amino Technologies and Abcam, up 0.9% and 2.1% respectively.
Sareum Holdings fell 16.2% and emerged as the largest faller in the Cambridge Index. Phytopharm dropped 8.6% following disappointing results from a pre-clinical study. The company stated that the study, designed to evaluate the neuroprotective effects of treatment with Myogane in glaucoma, failed to produce a definitive result. Other noticeable losers were Sagentia Group, PDX and Cyan Holdings, all down between 5.1% and 7.5%. DS Smith, down 2.3%, announced that the deadline to acquire the recycled packaging operations of Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget (SCA) was extended to 25 May from 8 May, after it offered commitments.
In the UK, the FTSE 100 index closed 1.4% lower, at 5,575.5, as a stalemate over the formation of a new Greek Government spurred fears that the nation may fail to implement the required austerity measures. Miners proved a drag on the FTSE 100 index, as the smallest increase in Chinese industrial production since 2009 , raised worries of a hard landing for the Chinese economy. The FTSE techMARK 100 Index eased 1.2% to 2,233.8, while the FTSE AIM 100 Index dropped 2.2% to 3,369.7.
US markets declined and the DJIA witnessed its biggest weekly decline of the year, as political tensions in Greece raised Eurozone debt concerns, and after JPMorgan’s $2 billion trading loss led the banking sector lower. The Dow Jones Index fell 1.7% to 12,820.6, while the Nasdaq Index slipped 0.8% to 2,933.8.