17 March 2021 | 07:50am
StockMarketWire.com - Outsourcing group Capita said it would target disposal proceeds of £500m this year as it streamlines its business after reporting narrower annual losses as the pandemic impact on revenue was offset by cost cuts.
The company would simplify its business from six divisions to three and target disposal proceeds of £700 million, with £500 million to come in 2021. Two core divisions will be focused on the needs of our government and blue-chip customer experience clients, in growing markets where we know we can win. The third will comprise a portfolio of non-core businesses from which we are targeting significant disposal proceeds, it added.
FTSE 100 Edges Lower Before Fed Announcement
Euro zone bond yields also inched higher as investors awaited cues from a two-day Federal Reserve meeting.
The benchmark FTSE 100 dropped 26 points, or 0.4 percent, to 6,777 after climbing 0.8 percent the previous day.
Retail investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown rose over 1 percent. The company said that its profit for the year ending June 30 should be modestly above analyst estimates.
Real estate investment trust SEGRO gave up 1.3 percent despite reporting a 62 percent rise in 2020 pretax profit
Capita Plc shares jumped 4.4 percent. The business process outsourcing company announced a major restructuring plan alongside efforts to raise £700m from selling non-core assets.
17 March 2021 | 16:37pm
StockMarketWire.com - The FTSE 100 closed down 0.6% to 6,762.67 as bond market jitters returned ahead of a key meeting of the US Federal Reserve. By 4.30pm UK time the US S&P 500 index was itself down 0.4% to 3,945.39.
Any sign that the Fed might ease off on its dovish stance on interest rates would indicate the US economy was on the mend, but could spook markets grown accustomed to an abundance of cheap credit.
Fantasy miniatures group Games Workshop fell 7.3% to £94.35 after a brief update which confirmed a dividend payment to shareholders but said trading would be in line subject to notwithstanding store closures and distribution disruption .
European Shares Retreat As Investors Await Fed Guidance
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks drifted lower in cautious trade on Wednesday as investors awaited the outcome of a Federal Reserve meeting and guidance on inflation and interest rates.
The Fed is poised to upgrade its forecasts for the U.S. economy, but it would be hard to justify no change in the policy outlook.
The pan European Stoxx 600 slid 0.3 percent to 425.43 after gaining 0.9 percent on Tuesday. The German DAX slipped 0.1 percent, France s CAC 40 index dipped 0.2 percent and the U.K. s FTSE 100 was down 0.3 percent.
German carmaker BMW surged 4 percent after it forecast significant year-on-year increase in group profit in 2021.