Gold prices briefly hit record high over $3,500/oz on fiscal, tariff concerns
Investing.com -- British stocks were flat on Monday, with online food delivery platform Deliveroo (OTC:DROOF) shares skyrocketing after receiving a takeover offer last week.
The blue-chip index FTSE 100 declined 0.02%, while the British pound has risen 0.6% against the dollar to 1.3390.
Meanwhile, DAX index in Germany rose 0.2%, the CAC 40 in France gained 0.5%.
Deliveroo shares soar after DoorDash bid, halts buyback
Shares of Deliveroo Holdings PLC (LON:ROO) rose 16.5% following a takeover offer from U.S.-based DoorDash Inc (NASDAQ:DASH) last week, prompting the company to suspend its $133.13 million share buyback program.
On Friday, the online food delivery company disclosed it had received a £2.7 billion ($3.59 billion) acquisition proposal from DoorDash on April 5.
The company said it is inclined to recommend the 180 pence-per-share offer to shareholders, pending agreement on other terms.
Entain rise following strong Q1 results from BetMGM
Entain PLC (LON:ENT) shares surged 6.8% after BetMGM LLC, a sports betting operator jointly owned by MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) and Entain, reported a first-quarter net revenue of $657 million, up from $489 million last year.
The company projects net revenue for the year to range between $2.4 billion and $2.5 billion, along with a positive EBITDA for fiscal year 2025.
Plus500 upgrades full-year forecast
Online trading platform Plus500 Ltd (LON:PLUSP) projected on Monday that its full-year results will outperform current market expectations, citing an excellent start to the year.
In the first quarter of 2025, Plus500 reported a 13% increase in revenue, amounting to $205.8 million. This figure, however, represents a 5% decline compared to the same period a year ago.
RBC starts coverage on U.K. defense stocks
RBC Capital Markets has begun coverage of several U.K.-listed defense and security technology companies, naming Cohort (LON:CHRT), Chemring Group PLC (LON:CHG), and Qinetiq Group PLC (LON:QQ) among them.
Cohort and Chemring were both rated Outperform, while QinetiQ received a Sector Perform rating.
RBC views all three as well-positioned to benefit from a potential surge in NATO defense spending, which could more than double by 2030 if targets rise to 3.5% of GDP.
UBS upgrades Berkeley
Shares of property developer Berkeley Group Holdings PLC (LON:BKGH) climbed 1% after UBS Global Research upgraded the stock to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’ in a note dated Monday, citing attractive valuation and solid earnings visibility.
Man Group downgraded on earnings cut
J.P. Morgan analysts downgraded investment manager Man Group PLC (LON:EMG) to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Overweight,’ citing downward revisions to earnings forecasts amid continued underperformance in its core trend-following strategies.
Trade talks update
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that he was unsure whether President Donald Trump had spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and added that he was not aware of any ongoing trade talks between the two countries.
In an interview with ABC News’ This Week, Bessent said his discussions with his Chinese counterpart focused mainly on traditional topics such as financial stability and global economic early warning systems.
“I don’t know if President Trump has had any conversations with President Xi,” Bessent added.