Piper Sandler lowers Arbor Realty Trust stock price target on credit issues
Investing.com -- British stocks fell slightly on Monday, starting the week on a negative note as wider European markets were mixed, while the pound remained flat.
The blue-chip index FTSE 100 declined 0.2% and the British GBP/USD fell 0.02% against the dollar to above 1.31.
The DAX index in Germany gained 0.7%, the CAC 40 in France fell 0.1%.
UK round up:
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UK manufacturing activity expanded in October for the first time in a year, according to the latest S&P Global UK Manufacturing PMI, which rose to a 12-month high of 49.7 from 46.2 in September - still just below the 50.0 mark that separates growth from contraction.
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Britain’s competition regulator said Monday it will launch an in-depth probe into the proposed $3.7 billion merger between Getty Images Holdings Inc (NYSE:GETY) and Shutterstock (NYSE:SSTK). The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) referred the deal for a Phase 2 investigation amid concerns that combining two of the largest stock image providers could lead to higher prices and lower quality for customers.
- Ryanair Holdings PLC (LON:0RYA) reported a 42% increase in first-half profit to €2.54 billion on Monday, while cautioning about potential challenges in the second half of the year. The airline’s second-quarter profit after tax grew 20% to €1.72 billion, up from €1.43 billion in the same period last year. Revenue increased 13% to €9.82 billion as passenger traffic rose 3% to 119 million. The average fare climbed 13% to €58. Despite the strong performance, Ryanair warned that tougher year-over-year fare comparisons and geopolitical risks could impact results in the second half of the year.
- In other news, Optima Health PLC (LON:OPT) reported revenue of approximately £59 million for the first half of fiscal 2026, a 17% increase from £50.8 million in the same period last year. The company said it remains on track to meet consensus forecasts for fiscal 2026, with full-year revenue expectations of £125.4 million.
- Empiric Student Property PLC (LON:ESP) announced it has achieved 89% occupancy for the 2025/26 academic year, with like-for-like rental growth of 4.5%. The student accommodation provider noted a slowdown in reservations since September 9, making its target occupancy rate of 97% difficult to achieve. The company cited fewer Chinese students and supply-demand imbalances in Nottingham, Sheffield, and Glasgow as contributing factors.
- BP PLC (LON:BP) has agreed to sell non-controlling interests in its US onshore midstream assets to private investor Sixth Street for $1.5 billion. The transaction includes BP’s pipelines and facilities in the Eagle Ford and Permian basins, including four Permian central processing facilities: Grand Slam, Bingo, Checkmate and Crossroads. These assets connect wells to third-party pipeline systems that transport oil and gas to customers.