MARKET REPORT: Footsie clocks up its best winning streak for more than two years

The FTSE 100 has achieved its best winning streak in more than two years.

In a seventh consecutive winning session, the blue-chip index gained 0.1 percent, or 7.6 points, to 7879.51 and the FTSE 250 rose 0.2 percent, or 44.21 points, to 19286.9.

That was the best run since December 2020, when the vaccine rebound gave the London stock market a bull’s-eye.

And the Footsie has been at the highest level for over a month now.

The latest move was a far cry from the low of 7,206 on March 20 when concerns about the global banking system wreaked havoc on financial markets.

But the FTSE 100 remained a long way from February’s all-time high of 8,014.

RS Group, a British technology company dubbed the Amazon for engineers, added 2.9 percent or 24.2 pence to 873.2 pence after investment bank RBC upgraded its rating from sector perform to outperform.

GSK applauded positive trial results for an oral antibiotic it is developing to treat bacterial cystitis in women.

The pharmaceutical giant said it hopes to receive approval for Gepotidacin from the US Food and Drug Administration by June.

Shares, however, fell 0.2 percent, or 3.2 pence, to 1511.8 pence.

Aston Martin also reversed, falling 2.9 percent, or 7 pence, to 232 pence, after Barclays downgraded the European auto sector from ‘neutral’ to ‘negative’.

It turned out to be a pleasant trading session for QinetiQ.

The defense group said the 2023 results should be better than its previous forecast and market expectations.

Analysts had expected sales of £1.5 billion and profit of £172 million. Stocks added 4.9p or 17.2p to 368.8p.

Stock watch – Deepverge

Deepverge lost almost half of its value after it revealed that sales last year were much lower than hoped.

The medical technology company expected sales for 2022 to be around £17.5 million.

But the new management team reviewed all major contracts and found that some had been “incorrectly recognized for more completed works.”

As a result, earnings should be between 45 and 50 percent below previous estimates.

Shares fell 45.5 percent, or 0.66 pence, to 0.79 pence.

Asset manager Ashmore warned that the dollar is poised to enter a “period of weakness” as recession fears mount in developed markets.

Boss Mark Coombs said capital markets were more volatile in the three months to March 31 as higher interest rates created turmoil in the banking system.

Despite this, the group’s assets under management increased by £400 million over the three-month period.

Shares fell 0.8 percent, or 2 pence, to 247 pence.

Recruiters took a beating as companies cut jobs or halted hiring due to skyrocketing costs and concerns about the economic outlook.

Page Group warned of a sharp drop in annual profits as it said the global slump in hiring at the end of last year will continue into 2023.

The company said trading remained difficult in many of its key markets, with gross profit declines in the UK, North America and Asia.

It reported a 9.4 percent drop in UK gross profit for the first three months of 2023, following a 1.9 percent drop in the final three months of last year.

Gross profit fell 21 percent in Asia and 14 percent in North America in the quarter.

The company said it expects operating profit for 2023 to be in line with a company-gathered consensus of £140m – down 29 per cent from the record £196.1m achieved in 2022.

Shares rose 0.2 percent, or 1 pence, to 454.8 pence.

Rival Robert Walters also recently said it’s had a harder time trading this year as global economic uncertainty impacts corporate hiring.

It reported a 9 percent drop in UK income to £16.3 million.

Shares also rose 0.2 percent, or 1 pence, to 429 pence.

Sales at the High Street fashion chain Quiz have fallen over the past two months as shoppers faced a rising cost of living.

Total group sales for the year to 31 March were up 17 per cent to £91.7m, despite a decline at the end of the period.

Shares fell 22.3 percent, or 3.45 pence, to 12 pence.