FTSE 100 Live: Ithaca leaps on Rosebank green light, three-way tussle for Pendragon

Proactive Investors –

FTSE 100 up 3 points at 7,628
Ithaca (LON:ITH) jumps after Rosebank gets green light
Centrica (LON:CNA) falls on Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) downgrade
Three-way tussle for Pendragon

Pendragon has jumped a further 10% after it revealed a third approach for the business from AutoNation after the market close on Tuesday.

The proposal to buy the Nottingham-based automotive retailer for 32p per share follows a joint bid approach from Hedin Mobility Group AG and PAG International Ltd also worth 32p per share, and the firm’s own plan to sell its UK motor and leasing business to North American rival Lithia Motors.

The company today reported revenue climbed 13% to £2.09 billion, with post-tax profit climbing 2% to £26.9 million as a result of the improving market.

Shares are up 10% at 32.90p, above the latest bid approach, suggesting the market thinks this battle could heat up further.

FTSE flat but Centrica slips on Morgan Stanley downgrade

The FTSE 100 has nudged into positive territory in cautious trading, now up 3 points at 7,628.

IMI (LON:IMI) is the top riser in the FTSE 100 as JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) said it was one of its favoured picks in the European Capital Goods sector.

The broker named Melrose and Oxford Instruments (LON:OXIG) as its other favoured UK plays in the sector.

Flutter’s push into Serbia seems to have been well received with shares up 1.1%.

But Centrica was the top faller down 4% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to equal weight from overweight with a 190p price target.

Land Securities is also down 2.7% despite its positive-looking update ahead of its Capital Markets Day.

Jefferies has moved the stock to underperform and cut its price target to 465p from 641p.

The broker has also cut Great Portland Estates to hold from buy pushing the stock 3.8% lower and downgraded British Land, which is down 2.4%, to hold from buy.

FTSE 100 edges lower, Ithaca jumps

The FTSE 100 edged lower in early trading as investors paused for breath after recent falls.

At 8:15am London’s lead index was down 1.03 points at 7,624.69 while the FTSE 250 fell 27.11 points, 0.2%, at 18,309.54.

“The FTSE 100 is set for a lacklustre session, hit by negative sentiment emanating from the US,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown (LON:HRGV).

“Nerves are frayed about the impact of high interest rates in the United States, while fragility in China is showing up once again. The latest big tech probe into Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has come as a double whammy amid a state of heightened tension about global growth prospects,” she said.

Ithaca Energy jumped 9.1% after the government’s oil and gas regulator gave the go-ahead for the development of Rosebank oil and gas field in the North Sea.

Ithaca Energy owns a 20% working interest in Rosebank, one of the largest undeveloped oil and gas fields on the British continental shelf, and expects to produce 300 million barrels of oil from the field in its lifetime.

Peel Hunt (LON:PEEL) said this “is a major derisking event for the business,” and “provides line of sight on a material new, long-term leg of net production from 2026-27 onwards.”

“Rosebank is the UK’s largest undeveloped oil field,” it noted.

“Therefore, in addition to creating several thousand local jobs, the decision to move forward with its development is also important from a UK energy security perspective,” the broker felt.

Peel Hunt has a buy rating on Ithaca and a price target of 210p.

Land Securities fell 2.2% despite some positive looking update ahead of its Capital Markets Day.

The commercial property developer said customer demand for its office space in London has remained strong since the end of March.

Shore Capital said: “Occupier demand for Landsec’s best-in-class office space has remained strong in the current year.”

“Reflecting the strong demand, rents across both schemes are more than 10% ahead of initial assumptions,” it added.

It said it would review its sell rating following the capital markets events later today and “our perceived improving sentiment for UK REITs.”