Global markets continue to trade in positive territory

Global markets continue to trade in positive territory heading into the afternoon as investors welcome the withdrawal of Larry Summers from the Federal Reserve and an agreement between the US and Russia for destroying Syria’s chemical weapons.

The dollar weakened against the majority of major peers after Lawrence Summers withdrew his bid to become Federal Reserve chairman who is believed to favour scaling back QE. A separate survey of economists showed that the Fed is likely to taper its monthly bond-buying program by $10 billion to $75 billion this week.

Comments from European Central Bank chairman Mario Draghi today stated that the Eurozone economic recovery “is only in its infancy” and that governments must take steps to improve growth. The Euro took to the downside before recovering later this afternoon as Draghi stated the economy remains fragile and unemployment is still far too high.

Risers

Barclays
Barclays PLC was upgraded by investment analysts at Nomura to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors today. The firm currently has a 340p price target on the stock, up from their previous target price of 260p. Nomura’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 12.73% from the stock’s previous close. Barclays PLC has a 1-year low of 211.80p and a 1-year high of 338.20p.

Vedanta Resources
Shares in Vedanta Resources have surged after the miner announced that Tom Albanese, the former chief executive of Rio Tinto, has been appointed as chairman of one of its subsidiaries. Albanese resigned from the top job at Rio after more than 30 years with the company, taking responsibility for a $14bn (£8.8bn) write-down following bad deals. He will not sit on Vedanta's main board, but instead will chair Vedanta Resources Holdings, which sits in between the main board and the miner's operating companies.

Bumi
Shares in Bumi are trading higher this morning after releasing details regarding their separation plan with the Indonesian Bakrie Family. Bumi has made clear that the protracted separation deal should complete by November. Bumi, created to bring together Indonesian mining assets in a London-listed company, has struggled with feuding shareholders since its creation in 2010 and in February agreed the terms of a split with the Bakrie family.

Bridge Energy
Shares in Bridge Energy rocketed after it recommended a takeover offer from Norway’s Spike Exploration. The North Sea explorer’s stock jumped over 25% when it revealed the all-cash bid, worth 162 pence a share, which values it at £103 million. Bridge said 62% of its shareholders have accepted the offer, while 34% have given irrevocable undertakings. Chief executive Tom Reynolds said: “We are pleased to announce that Bridge has received a cash offer from Spike Exploration”.

SolGold
SolGold has successfully completed a £744,000 ($1.27M) cash call via a private placement with Australian investors. The fundraise was done at 7.5p a share and the fresh injection of cash will go towards the phase one drilling programme on the company’s highly prospective Cascabel copper-gold project in Ecuador.

Fallers

Fresnillo
Fresnillo shares have lost more value than any other within the FTSE 100 this morning. This comes as investors weighed up the prospect of a big levy on the mining sector in Mexico. All of Fresnillo’s seven operational mines are in Mexico, leaving it heavily exposed to such an increase in its tax burden. While the prospect of a bigger tax burden left Fresnillo more exposed, wider precious metals stocks were also falling. As investors continue to expect the Federal Reserve to start reducing its stimulus spending this week, gold’s appeal as a hedge against inflation was losing its lustre, knocking prices.

Wolseley
Wolseley was downgraded by Credit Suisse to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued today. They currently have a 3,700p price objective on the stock. Credit Suisse’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 9.34% from the company’s current price. This comes after analysts at Deutsche Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on the share last Friday with a 3,400p price target.

Cobham
Cobham was downgraded by stock analysts at Liberum Capital to a “hold” rating in a report issued today. They currently have a 320p price target on the stock. Liberum Capital’s price target indicates a potential upside of 6.21% from the stock’s previous close. Cobham has a 52-week low of 186.50p and a 52-week high of 312.60p.

UBM
UBM’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Levin is stepping down from the multinational media company next July. Chairman Helen Alexander will lead a search for the replacement of Levin who will remain in the role until a successor is found. Levin has been CEO since 2005, during which time he helped transform UBM from a broad media conglomerate focused on the UK and US into an events and communications business in emerging markets.

Forte Energy
Shares in the Australian-based minerals company plunged after its proposed merger with Leo Mining was scrapped after the two companies failed to agree on changes to the original terms. Forte said the parties could not agree on certain proposed material amendments including the withdrawal by Leo Mining of some of the assets. Leo’s main holding is a 48% stake in Canada-listed rare earth and uranium explorer Mkango Resources.