Market Report: IAG sees its shares climb after Aer Lingus acquisition

Retailers were hit by a report from BDO warning that August was the worst month for high street sales since the recession in 2008

British Airways owner IAG, which is buying Aer Lingus in a €1.36bn (£1bn) deal, is already seeing its shares climbing as a result of the takeover.

The company was propelled upwards following an update yesterday on Aer Lingus’ record August. It carried 1.13 million passengers last month, up 7.3 per cent on the same month last year.

IAG rose 0.5p to 565p, one of only two stocks to make it on to the blue-chip risers’ list yesterday. It was joined there by Hikma Pharmaceuticals, after the Jordanian drug maker was upgraded to buy from neutral by Goldman Sachs.

The bank noted Hikma’s acquisition of Roxane Laboratories from Germany’s Boehringer Ingelheim in July, which it thinks could offer potential for Hikma to further improve its market position. The City agreed and Hikma rose 7p to 2,350p.

US jobs figures otherwise dominated trading on the FTSE 100, with the benchmark index falling 151 points to 6,042.9 as traders decided the data left the door open to a rise in US interest rates this month. That more than wiped out all of Thursday’s 1.8 per cent gain, leaving the index down 3.3 per cent for the week.

Miners once again led stocks lower, with Anglo American down 56.5p at 668.5p and Glencore losing 7.8p to 123.15p. The mining sector, which has been hit by worries over the Chinese economy, is on track for its weakest quarterly performance since 2011.

BP dropped 17.95p to 337.9p after Bank of America Merrill Lynch cut its rating to underperform from neutral, warning that the oil major would have to cut spending and increase borrowing to maintain its dividend.

Retailers were hit by a report from BDO warning that August was the worst month for high street sales since the recession in 2008. The 4.3 per cent sales drop was the sixth monthly dip this year.

Next lost 245p to 7,595p, not helped by analysts at Exane BNP Paribas who cut their rating on the retailer to underperform from neutral.

The broker also downgraded Dixons Carphone, which fell 18.6p to 412.3p.