MARKET REPORT: Anglo American rebounds as analysts back restructuring

Having taken further steps towards a major restructuring of its business, Anglo American has won the support of Jefferies analysts, who upgraded the blue-chip miner’s rating from ‘hold’ to ‘buy’.

Although there are still risks around the restructuring, which has seen Anglo American sell its coal and platinum assets, Jefferies analysts said a drop in the company’s share price leaves the stock a good value.

Analysts at the US bank said that once the restructuring is complete, Anglo American will be well positioned to benefit from a rising copper price and a resilient iron ore price.

The company should also have a strong balance sheet and strong cash flow, allowing it to generate strong returns on capital.

With Anglo American shares falling around 15 per cent since the restructuring was revealed in May, analysts at Jefferies also raised their share price target to 2,850p from 2,500p.

Anglo American shares led gains on the FTSE 100, rising 5.4 per cent, or 129.5p, to 2,520.5p.

In the last trading session of November, the FTSE 100 index rose 0.1 per cent, or 6.08 points, to 8,287.3.

Over the month, the blue-chip index has gained about 2 percent. With just one month left until the end of 2024, it is ahead by around 6.5 percent, but remains well below the all-time high of 8,474.41 reached in May.

The FTSE 250 index rose 0.04 per cent, or 8.79 points, to 20,771.57 pence, but was also up around 2 per cent on the month, putting it around 5 per cent higher so far. that is of the year.

The brokers’ comments also boosted gains in blue-chip engineer IMI, which added 3.3 percent, or 58 pence, to 1,820 pence after analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded its rating to “buy.” in a great note about the engineering sector.

But FTSE 100-listed defense engineer BAE Systems fell 4.9 per cent, or 63 pence, to 1,227 pence, following a downgrade to “underperform” by analysts at Bank of America.

And QinetiQ, its FTSE 250-listed defense peer, also suffered, losing 3.5 per cent, or 15p, to 415.2p, as the same analysts also cut its rating to “underperform”.

Retailers focused their attention on Black Friday, a key shopping date for the sector. Next actions gained 2.2 per cent, or 218 pence, to 10,080 pence, as Berenberg analysts began covering the “buy” group of clothing and home goods stores. But rival M&S lost 0.3 per cent, or 1p, to 382.7p as analysts at Berenberg took a less optimistic view, starting coverage with a “hold” rating.

Elsewhere, stocks with exposure to Georgia suffered after the former Soviet republic’s government suspended its attempts to join the European Union, leading to violent clashes between protesters and riot police. Topping the list of FTSE 250 losers, TBC Bank lost 5.9 per cent, or 190 pence, to 3,030 pence and Bank of Georgia fell 6.2 per cent, or 310 pence, to 4,685 pence.

Among small caps, gaming minnow Webis soared 7.1 per cent, or 0.01p, to 0.15p, posting resilient annual results, a last hurray after recently announcing its intention to retire from AIM’s list to reduce costs as it looks to grow its business in North America.