Despite a busier than usual Christmas delivery season, Royal Mail’s share price slumped to 6.4% to 420.7p Thursday morning, as investors continued to fret about its flagging letters business.
Shares were down 2.5% to 4,461.5p late Thursday morning, following reports the pharmaceutical group’s pre-tax profits had slipped 29%.
Paddy Power Betfair raised its full year profits guidance after delivering a robust performance over the third quarter.
Shares in BP fell by 3.8% to 465.6p mid-morning on Tuesday, as shares in rival Royal Dutch Shell soared upward by 3.5% to 2188.1p.
Royal Bank of Scotland has continued to flounder in what it described as the “current low interest rate and low growth environment,” returning £469m in attributable losses, compared with a £940m profit the year prior.
Shares in St James’s Place jumped 3.3% to 980p during the opening minutes of trading following reports of its healthy year-on-year growth in funds under management.
The market responded harshly to the third quarter announcements made by Travis Perkins and Reckitt Benckiser Wednesday, causing shares in the companies to topple 6.9% to 1384.5 and 2.3% to 7156.5p, respectively.
Man Group’s acquisition of Aalto Invest Holding and subsequent launch of a private markets business inspired a 13.7% rise in the company’s shares to 123.6p on Friday morning.
Thursday’s news that M&S CEO Marc Bolland is retiring was well received by investors who see the move as a credible next chapter in the firm’s ongoing self-help story.
