Tuesday’s Master Investor Market Report

– The FTSE 100 closed the day at 6,068.49, a decrease of 179.45 points.
– The FTSE 250 fell by 252.83 points to finish at 16,853.53.
– The FTSE All Share dropped by 87.75 points to 3,346.91.
– The FTSE AIM All Share finished at 731.04, down by 3.81 points.

UK Manufacturing employment dropped for the first time in two years amid concerns about demand for British exports. The manufacturing sector PMI survey showed purchasing managers’ confidence edging downwards, confounding expectations of improvement and coming close to indicating a contraction. A separate survey by the EEF showed that 47% of manufacturers are worried about the effects of the Chinese slowdown on their businesses.

Pest control outfit Rentokil Initial (RTO) has agreed a deal to buy US-based competitor Steritech for a cash consideration of $425 million (£277 million). The purchase remains subject to regulatory approval, but management say that the move would help secure its position in America, which represents 50% of the global pest control market, as well as boost its profile in Canada. Shares in Rentokil climbed 3.40p to 151.70p.

The Chairman of Man Group’s (EMG) China group has been taken into custody by authorities looking into the causes of recent market instability. According to Bloomberg, Ms. Li Yifei’s husband told reporters she was meeting “relevant market authorities” and that it was unclear when she would be released. Shares in the company fell by 6.2% to 150.20p.

Interest in AGA Rangemaster (AGA) shares has heated up after Whirlpool made a takeover approach to the appliance manufacturer. Management said that without a firm offer from Whirlpool, Middleby’s offer would still be put to shareholders next week, but an offer could still derail the process until a binding agreement is made. AGA shares jumped up by 26.75p to 210p.

Shares in exploration and development firm Rare Earth Minerals (REM) have climbed 5.2% to 1.11p after the company announced that a second drill rig had been brought in to action at the Sonora lithium project following the agreement of a supply deal with Tesla. The company said that the drilling work would be completed by the end of this week.

Tomorrow’s news today

Johnson Service Group (JSG), Concurrent Technologies (CNC) and Biome Technologies (BIOM) will publish interim results tomorrow.

Quote of the day

“Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.”
– Warren Buffett