MARKET REPORT: Major British companies to end year with a whimper

It looks like stock markets will end the year with a whimper rather than a bang.

On the last full London trading day of 2024 (the stock closes at 12.30pm today), the FTSE 100 was down 0.35 per cent, or 28.77, to 8,121.01, while the FTSE 250 closed with down 0.41 percent, or 84.10, to 20,404.55.

The Footsie has now lost more than 2 percent this month and 5 percent since its peak in May. But this year it’s still up about 5 percent and hasn’t closed below the 8,000 mark since April.

Despite recent declines, US indices will end the year with their biggest gains since 1997, boosted by technology stocks, particularly those related to artificial intelligence (AI), such as chip company Nvidia.

But analysts have pointed to a likely turnover of high-profile players in the new year, believing that expectations have likely become too high for AI-related companies to meet.

However, technology investors are always looking for the next big thing, and there is talk that quantum computing could be it.

Google said in early December that it had made significant advances in quantum computing with its new Willow chip, which had been able to solve complex problems in five minutes that would take current supercomputers about 10 septillions of years.

One problem is that the technology is not ready to be widely commercialized, meaning there could be a delay in the advancement of the technology sector.

That delay could be seen in London with Alteration Earth’s lackluster AIM market debut as a small-cap AI play.

The shell company previously listed on the main exchange recently completed the acquisition of Pri0r1ty AI, which provides AI-powered software-as-a-service solutions to small and medium-sized businesses, and intends to change its name to Pri0r1ty Intelligence Group.

Alteration Earth raised £900,000 in a placement with a share price of 13.5 per annum, giving it an initial market capitalization of £13 million. But after opening at a premium, it ended at 10.75p.

One of London’s best performers in 2024, Rolls-Royce, was among those falling on the FTSE 100, losing 1.3 per cent, or 7.6p, to close at 570.4p amid the concern that the recent crash of a passenger plane in South Korea could lead to more problems for US aircraft maker Boeing and its suppliers.

All the year-end corporate news came from small caps. SDX Energy jumped 28.6 per cent, or 0.1p, to 0.45p after postponing today’s meeting in London due to a “logistical issue”. The meeting was called to approve the delisting of the oil minnow from the AIM list.

Ondine Biomedical jumped 5.9 per cent, or 0.5p, to 9p after saying it had treated the first patient in the phase three clinical trial evaluating its antibiotic-free nasal photodisinfection technology.

And Cel AI rose 41.7 per cent, or 0.03p, to 0.09p, as the company, which abandoned skincare to focus on cryptocurrencies, said it expected performance growth in next year after reporting a reduction in the pre-full year. tax losses.

But NARF Industries lost 8.4 per cent, or 0.05 pence, to 0.55 pence, as the cybersecurity company reported a decline in its half-year profit as it dealt with temporary delays in the US government budget.