Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Markets: HOW BRITAIN'S BIGGEST HAVE PERFORMED

Saturday 31 May 1997 23:02 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The biggest gainer on the FT-SE 100 index was Burmah Castrol, the international lubricants group, which rose 5.6 per cent in the week. Several stockbrokers are recommending the stock after the chairman stressed that trading to date is stronger than a year ago, quelling concerns that currency fluctuations had hurt its overseas performance.

The second best performing stock of the week was Mercury Asset Management, which rose 4.2 per cent after the company announced it has been appointed to manage more than pounds 83m of assets on behalf of Logica's pension scheme. Some of the directors also purchased shares.

The biggest decliner on the index was BTR, which fell 9.2 per cent. Institutional investors are calling for the removal of the chairman following a surprise profits warning last month due to problems in the German and Austrian businesses. Investors are sceptical about the credibility of the company's restructuring strategy. They want to see a more "heavyweight" chairman.

The second worst performing stock was Commercial Union, which fell 5.8 per cent. The company announced at the end of the previous week that it had agreed to buy a US property and casualty firm, Houston General Insurance, for a sum to be agreed by the end of September. Copyright: IOS & Bloomberg

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in