The Market Report with Katie Pilbeam.
FTSE 100 fell slightly, losing 20 points to 7,255. It is set to be a busy week for the market, with a host of trading updates and economic data on the way.
Vodafone got the ball rolling, reporting revenue growth in the first quarter of 2023. The mobile phone operator said performance was driven by contractual annual price increases, customer base growth and higher roaming revenue.
Ryanair said it’s unsure it will return to pre-COVID levels of profitability this year. This was despite topping first-quarter estimates, with chief executive Michael O’Leary saying there was “a very strong but still fragile recovery.”
AstraZeneca’s asthma treatment received EU approval for marketing as an add-on therapy for patients 12 and over. Tezspire helps patients with severe asthma.
East Star Resources said it started drilling on the Apmintas licence in the Chu-Ili gold belt of central Kazakhstan. The diamond drilling programme will initially focus on areas with known high-grade mineralisation.
Begbies Traynor, the corporate restructuring firm, said it bought Mantra Capital, a London-based finance and insurance brokerage. Mantra will join the MAF Finance Group to form BGT Funding Solutions.
Coinsilium said it has been appointed advisor to Metalinq Labs Inc, entering into a token purchase agreement to buy future Metalinq tokens. Coinsilium will purchase US$200,000 worth of future Metalinq tokens in the initial pre-seed funding.
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