MARKET REPORT: Gold miners cash in as precious metal hits record high

Gold producers were on the rise as the price of the precious metal hit an all-time high.

As investors worried about the health of the banking system and global economy, gold rose to £1,645 an ounce.

That was the highest level ever in British pounds.

In dollar terms, it soared above $2,000 to just below the record set when the pandemic hit before abating again.

The rally sent shares in London-listed West African gold producer Endeavor Mining up 4 percent, or 71p, to 1831p, Fresnillo gained 4.8 percent, or 34p, to 744p, and Centamin added 4.5 percent, or 4.5p, up to 105.15p.

Adrian Ash, research director at investment platform Bullion Vault, said: “Wholesaling precious metals stands out as the most tradable physical asset.

“It is the deep liquidity in gold, added to the security of full ownership, that is driving this jump in new demand.”

Mining stocks were also boosted by positive broker upgrades. Glencore rose 3.9 percent, or 16.7 pence, to 449.35 pence after Bank of America upgraded its rating from “neutral” to “buy.”

A similar sentiment was echoed by analysts at UBS, who also upgraded the stock. They said they were “encouraged by recent data from China, which are slightly stronger than expected.”

Similarly, Anglo American’s rating and target price were upgraded by the Bank of America, which said the miner would make a profit because it is a major platinum producer. Shares rose 4.9 percent, or 122p, to 2626p.

In contrast, oil prices plummeted to their lowest level since December 2021 on fears for the health of the global economy. Brent crude fell to $70 a barrel at one stage.

Stock watch – Tribe group

Shares in Tribal Group plummeted after a Singapore university attempted to terminate an eight-year contract early.

The education software provider signed a £17 million deal with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in late 2020.

Last year, Tribal said the contract was expected to be onerous after continued delays.

And yesterday it revealed that NTU is seeking to terminate the contract and “reserves the right to seek damages.”

Shares fell 22 percent, or 11 pence, to 39 pence.

It sent Tullow Oil down 4.6 percent, or 1.34p, to 27.6p and Harbor Energy fell 0.4 percent, or 1.1p, to 246.6p. But BP added 1.5 per cent or 7.05p to 487p and Shell gained 1 per cent or 22p to 2236p.

After the FTSE 100 opened solidly in the red amid banking turmoil, the FTSE 100 eventually added 0.9 percent, or 68.45 points, to 7403.85. The FTSE 250 rose 0.1 percent, or 24.3 points, to 18495.13.

Smurfit Kappa is the latest London-listed company to withdraw from Russia. The packaging company has sold its Russian operations in St. Petersburg and Moscow to local management nearly a year after it first announced its departure. Shares were up 2.3 percent, or 66p, to 2893p.

Intertek, the quality assurance and product testing company, has appointed a finance chief.

Colm Deasy will take up the job after Jonathan Timmis steps down with ‘immediate effect’.

He will also serve on a new group executive committee headed by Intertek boss Andre Lacroix. Shares rose 0.5 percent, or 21p, to 3997p.

Meanwhile, ITV took a £16 million hit last year in connection with the Queen’s death. In its annual report for 2022, the broadcaster said it was forced to cancel several episodes of Spitting Image satirizing the former monarch, for a fee of £9 million.

The remaining £7 million came from additional news coverage. Shares rose 1.9 percent, or 1.52 pence, to 80.06 pence.

At First Group, the bus and rail operator’s West Coast Partnership contract has been extended by the Department for Transport until October 15.

It expired at the end of this month. Shares fell 0.1 percent, or 0.1 pence, to 104.5 pence.

The boss of AO World has donated nearly 1.5 million shares of the company to charity. John Roberts, owner of 18.35 percent of the white goods company he founded 23 years ago, gave away 1,468,189 shares.

That netted him 105.89 million shares worth about £65 million. Most of the donated supplies went to children’s charity OnSide Youth Zones.

Shares in AO rose 1.3 percent, or 0.8 pence, to 61.8 pence.