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Shares of engineering giant Melrose Industries soared after it gave investors much-needed reassurance.
The FTSE 100 group, which owns parts maker GKN Aerospace, said revenue rose 7 per cent in the four months to the end of October.
The business was boosted by so-called aftermarket work, which includes repairs to fighter jet engines and commercial aircraft.
Takeoff: Melrose, owner of parts maker GKN Aerospace, said revenue rose 7% in the four months to the end of October.
The company, which spun off its automotive unit and other businesses last year to become a purely aerospace supplier, left its full-year profit forecast unchanged at between £550m and £570m.
The shares rose 7.6 per cent, or 37.1 pence, to 526.6 pence, but are still down around 6 per cent this year, having fallen sharply following the release of disappointing half-year results over the summer.
Production delays at crisis-hit planemaker Boeing and rival Airbus have taken their toll on the entire aerospace industry this year.
But in a boost for Melrose, it has forced airlines to continue flying older planes, increasing demand for the after-sales services and parts it provides.
Russ Mould, investment director at brokerage AJ Bell, said: “There will be real relief in the absence of further downgrades on the Melrose aerospace business following its warning this summer.”
The FTSE 100 added 0.6 per cent, or 45.71 points, to 8,109.32 and the FTSE 250 fell 0.4 per cent, or 81.23 points, to 20,395.41.
After reaching a high of $93,480 last week, bitcoin fell back below $90,000. The cryptocurrency has been one of the big winners since Donald Trump’s victory in the United States presidential election.
Surveillance of actions – Scientific judges
The rollercoaster for investors in Judges Scientific continues.
The company, which buys and develops companies in the scientific instruments sector, said that the second half of the year “will show progress” after “a challenging first half.”
But he warned that a number of orders he was confident will not arrive until next year, which will affect his figures for this year.
The shares plummeted 11.6%, or 1,190p, to 9,060p.
AstraZeneca received a much-needed boost after the EU approved its Tagrisso drug for adults with a type of lung cancer.
The drug has already been approved in countries such as the United States, China and Japan.
Shares in the company, which have lost around a quarter of their value in recent weeks amid concerns about its operations in China, fell 0.6 per cent, or 63 pence, to 9,915 pence.
Paul Waterman bowed to shareholder pressure and agreed to step down as chief executive of FTSE 250 chemicals company Elementis after nine years in the role.
Activist investor Gatemore Capital has been calling for Waterman to be replaced after complaining that the company has suffered “self-inflicted management failures.”
Elementis shares fell 0.4 per cent, or 0.6p, to 134.4p.
Shares in budget store chain B&M fell 8.1 per cent, or 30.5p, to a two-year low of 347.9p after RBC analysts cut their price target from 550p to 500p. pennies.
Housebuilder Vistry had no respite. Barclays brokers cut their target for the stock from 896p to 615p. The shares fell 5.6 per cent, or 39 pence, to 660 pence, the lowest level since July 2023.
The stock has more than halved since early September as investors stay away following a recent warning that profits will be much lower than expected after the company underestimated the cost of developing certain projects.
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