MARKET REPORT: Meta loses £130 billion in value after AI spend fears

More than £100 billion has been wiped from Meta’s value as fears mount over the Facebook owner’s massive spending on artificial intelligence (AI).

Shares of the company, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, fell 10.6 percent in New York after it said costs would be higher than previously expected.

That wiped £105bn off Meta’s value. In an update on Tuesday, the group said it will spend as much as £32 billion by 2024 – up from a previous forecast of £30 billion.

Boss Mark Zuckerberg said the group would need to invest “significantly more to build even more advanced models and the world’s largest AI services.”

The FTSE 100 surpassed 8100 for the first time, rising to 8102 before falling slightly.

However, it continued to rise 0.5 percent, or 38.48 points, to 8,078.86. The FTSE 250 fell 0.6 percent, or 117.39 points, to 19,601.98.

House builder Persimmon is on track to build between 10,000 and 10,500 homes this year.

1,027 were built between January and March, 10 percent fewer than the same period last year, while sales rose, as did the number of inquiries. But shares fell 0.7 percent, or 9.5p, to 1,282.5p.

Travel chain WH Smith’s high street sales, which fell 4 per cent to £256 million in the first half to February 6, took the shine off an otherwise strong set of results.

Shares fell 6 percent, or 76p, to 1182p. Advertising giant WPP fell 0.9 percent, or 7.4p, to 796.4p due to poor performance in North America, its biggest market.

There, sales fell 5.2 percent to £1.06 billion in the first three months of the year as technology customers cut back and contracts expired.

That led to a 1.6 percent decline in sales to £2.7 billion.

Schroders reported £760.4 billion in assets under management – ​​up from £750.6 billion in the previous quarter.

The update came a day after the investment firm announced that CEO Peter Harrison will retire next year. Shares fell 5.5 percent, or 20p, to 347.2p.

British engineer Senior will be paid £104 million to work with Spirit Aerosystems for another five years to supply parts for Boeing aircraft. Share prices rose 2.4 percent, or 3.8p, to 163.8p.

Hikma rose 2.3 percent, or 41p, to 1854p after the pharmaceutical group increased its dividend last year and had a strong start to 2024. Biotech company Destiny Pharma will investigate how it can ‘maximize’ the value of its nasal gel.

It hopes a trial will lead to a licensing deal for a treatment to prevent post-operative infections, cutting losses to £6.4m last year, from £7.7m in 2022. It fell 22.1 per cent, or 4.75p, to 16.75p. P.

Business was tough for Travis Perkins after first-quarter sales fell 3.7 percent — but builders’ shares rose 1 percent, or 7 cents, to 719.5 cents.

Brick manufacturer Ibstock had a slow start to the year as construction activity was weak and sales were worse than hoped due to rain. It fell 1.9 percent, or 2.8 cents, to 147 cents.

Durham technology group Kromek, which makes products to identify cancer and ‘dirty bombs’, will receive £2.3 million from a US federal agency for its nuclear security package. It rose 7.1 percent, or 0.5 cents, to 7.5 cents.