March 24th 2008
The Cambridge Index declined 3.3% last week to close at 5,324.9, as the top five weighted index stocks lost values in line with the broader markets. Technology stocks such as Autonomy Corp. PLC, Aveva Group PLC, Brady PLC, Bango PLC and nCipher PLC declined between 4.0% and 21.0% after a profit warning from Sony Ericsson and disappointing outlook from Deutsche Telekom. Netcall PLC lost 16.2% after the company stated that difficult macro-economic conditions might affect its trading in the second half of the year.
Greene King PLC declined 14.9% after Tchenguiz failed to find a buyer for its Laurel Pub Holdings Ltd. Alizyme PLC and ITM Power PLC were the other prominent losers during the week, down 19.6% and 16.0%, respectively.
Meldex International PLC topped the gainers’ list, rising 16.8% amid hopes that the company could receive a takeover bid. Domino Printing Sciences PLC gained 2.5% after it stated that trading in first four months of the current year has been in line with expectations. Kier Group and Plasmon were the other prominent gainers, rising 4.1% and 0.9%, respectively. During the week, a total of 33 stocks declined, 4 stocks advanced and 9 remained unchanged.
The broad FTSE 100 Index fell 2.4% to 5,495.2, led by a decline in mining and energy stocks after metal and oil prices declined. Earlier in the week, markets closed at its lowest level since November 2005, after the sale of Bear Stearns raised concerns over more credit related losses. Banking stocks eased amid speculation that HBOS was facing liquidity problems. During the week, the FTSE techMARK 100 Index declined 1.1% to 1,477.0 and the FTSE AIM 100 Index lost 5.7% to close at 4,706.6.
In the US, the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 2.1% to 2,258.1, after the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a hefty 75 bps. Financial stocks in US rallied upwards after the Goldman Sachs Group, Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers Holdings posted first quarter earnings that beat Wall Street expectations.
Homebuilders rose after the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight reduced the capital surplus requirement for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, allowing the mortgage lenders to invest billions in mortgages and mortgage backed securities.
Research and analysis for these reports has been conducted by Dawnay Day AV Analytics on behalf of NW Brown Group.
