US tech stocks drop G7 tax deal

AAmerican nglo was the biggest drag on the benchmark on Monday after its South African coal business fell when it debuted in the market.

Actions in Thungela Resources opened at 150p but fell back to 113p in London, although its broker Liberum said in a report last week that the miner was worth between 230p and 490p per share.

Thungela’s rating has been seen as an indicator of investor appetite for coal mining stocks as climate concerns grow around the world. It comes after the Sunday Telegraph revealed that Anglo American had been accused of “greenwashing” by research firm Boatman Capital, which claimed the Thungela coal mines were “worthless” and its cleanup costs could be three times higher than the amounts disclosed to investors. Anglo American lost 101.5 pence to £ 31.53.

Conversely, Sir Martin Sorrell’s project S4 Capital jumped to its highest share price after the advertising group raised its profit forecast for the second time in a month following a global economic rebound.

S4 Capital, created by Sir Martin after leaving industry giant WPP in 2018, has said it is now aiming for 35% net revenue growth in 2021, up from previous forecasts by 30 %. He raised his forecast from 25% to 30% in early May.

Reportable net sales grew nearly 84% in the first four months, compared to 71% in the first quarter. Executive Chairman Sir Martin said: “As the global economy recovers from the pandemic and openness and vaccines take effect, trade for the first four months of 2021 has accelerated sharply.” Shares rose 33p to 620p.

Home builders backed the FTSE 100 yesterday, to close up 8.18 points at 7,077.22. It came as the Halifax Price Index showed the average UK home has become around £ 22,000 more expensive than a year ago, hitting an all-time high.

Construction companies Khaki and Barratt Developments were among the better amounts, adding 85p to £ 32.36 and 12.6p to 768.4p respectively. Airlines have also risen following a joint call by US and UK airlines for a relaxation of travel restrictions with parent company British Airways AGI the second best elite winner, closing 5.46p to 201.8p.

BT led the rankings with gains of 6.5p to 183.5p after announcing the launch of a new business division that will provide home office users with enterprise-grade connectivity. Investment bank Jefferies raised its price target to 260p per share.

Elsewhere, shares in an investment firm Hipgnose edged down 1p to 123.2p despite news of a revenue increase of 66pc to $ 138million (£ 97million) in the year through March. The company spent $ 1 billion to buy 84 songbooks last year.