Thursday’s Master Investor Market Report

– The FTSE 100 closed the day at 6,072.47, an increase of 10.86 points.
– The FTSE 250 rose by 80.63 points to finish at 16,763.65.
– The FTSE All Share climbed by 8.22 points to 3,344.14.
– The FTSE AIM All Share finished at 726.65, up by 1.39 points.

Brokerage Numis (NUM) has said that it performed strongly during the second half of the year ended 30th September, and that revenues from core activities grew by around 5% due to high levels of client activity. Over the last six months, the company completed 6 IPOs and 9 other equity raisings. Shares in the business grew by 7.75p to 244p.

Meat processor Cranswick (CWK) has reported that revenues for the six months ended 30th September were up by 10% over the same period of 2014, beating management expectations due to strong volume growth and a good contribution from the recently acquired Benson Park. The company expects growth to continue through the rest of the year, but said that market conditions remain challenging. The shares climbed by 93p to 1,647p.

Tullow Oil (TLW) shares climbed by 9.6% to 185.40p after it announced that its credit facilities remained unchanged following a half yearly redetermination process. Investec remain sceptical and commented that “we urge equity holders to step back and consider the broader capital structure and their place within it. The ongoing cost also needs to be considered. Yes, debt is cheap right now, but will it be forever?”.

Shares in Caza Oil & Gas (CAZA) plummeted 51.67% to 0.72p after the explorer revealed that it was in advanced discussions regarding equity funding that management warned would be highly dilutive of current stockholdings. The company needs fresh cash in order to repay some of its outstanding debts where covenants restricting its behaviour have been triggered.

Tomorrow’s news today

Tate & Lyle (TATE) and Electrocomponents (ECM) will post trading statements tomorrow.

Quote of the day

“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.”
– Jean-Jacques Rousseau