FTSE 100 opened flat as miner and the giant oil companies held off weakness among the tech and consumer facing groups. The index was down 5 at 7,610 in early trades.
Media groups were especially weak as market research firm Kantar said over 1.5mln people cancelled memberships for video streaming sites in the first quarter of 2022. Netflix, Amazon and Disney+ all had cancelled memberships due to the cost of living crisis.
WH Smith has suspended orders at Funky Pigeon, its online greetings card and gift business, following a cyber-security incident last week. No customer payment data was breached due to the incident said the retailer.
Rolls-Royce’s small modular nuclear reactor will likely receive UK regulatory approval by mid-2024. Chairman Paul Stein said it should be able to produce grid power by 2029.
Iofina reported robust demand and prices for iodine and iodine derivatives. The iodine producer added it is on track to achieve its projection of around 225-240 tonnes of crystalline iodine production in the first half of the year.
Empyrean Energy has upped the chance of success at the Jade project as data captured during on-going drilling appears to back up earlier models. The presence of methane “gas clouds” at expected depths validates pre-drill interpretation of seismic data, the company said.
DeepVerge has seen the best quarter in its history with the environmental services specialist making progress on all fronts. Revenues for the first three months of 2022 were up 84% compared with the same period last year.
