Thursday’s Master Investor Market Report

– The FTSE 100 closed the day at 6,186.99, a decrease of 42.22 points.
– The FTSE 250 fell by 18.52 points to finish at 17,043.45.
– The FTSE All Share dropped by 19.01 points to 3,405.53.
– The FTSE AIM All Share finished at 740.73, up by 2.55 points.

Retail sales in the UK retained upward momentum in August, but the volume of goods sold rose by just 0.2% from the same month a year ago and deep discounting meant that retail revenues were down on the 2014 equivalent. The majority of the annual growth was in furniture and household goods, while food markets were stagnant.

Technology distributor Premier Farnell (PFL) saw its interim pre-tax profits drop by 13.7% to £30.6 million following the disposal of Akron Brass and the move to refocus on its core activities. The company also cut its interim divided by 40.9% to 2.6p and said that future dividends would require sufficient cover. Shares in the firm dropped by 15.98% to 112p.

Engineering outfit Rotork (ROR) issued a profit warning this morning as markets became more difficult and the company saw a number of projects deferred or cancelled. While management have worked to cut costs, these savings will not outweigh the reduction in top line revenues. Following the announcement, Investec downgraded its rating to “sell” and slashed its target price to 170p. Rotork shares fell by 23.4p to 192.6p.

PVC producer Safestyle UK (SFE) earned revenues of £74 million during the six months ended 30th June, a 6.9% improvement over the comparable period of the prior year. Management said that its online marketing operations had led to a sharp increase in window frame installations. Safestyle shares climbed 1.50p to 247.50p.

Shares in miner Shanta Gold (SHG) climbed by 3.03% to 4.25p after the company announced that it would most likely meet its full year targets in Tanzania with output of between 72,000 and 77,000 ounces. Costs have remained in line with budgeted levels and the total resource levels at the Elizabeth Hill site have been revised upwards by around 40,000 ounces.

Tomorrow’s news today

Petra Diamonds (PDL) will publish final results tomorrow.

Quote of the day

“If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.”
– Jim Rohn