Market Report: CSR rejects bid from rival Microchip Technology

The microchip supplier behind Beats by Dre headphones and Bluetooth speaker docks pulsed up to the top of the mid-tier table yesterday on news that it had received a bid from its American rival Microchip Technology.

CSR, formerly known as Cambridge Silicon Radio, yesterday revealed it had rejected the offer as it wants more money. It said: “The price proposed by Microchip has been rejected and the board is considering its options.”

The company’s radio technology and its expansion into the new “internet of things” – where everyday appliances, from heating to lights, can be connected to the web – is in demand and punters expect further interest. The stock soared more than 35 per cent, or 205p, to 780p.

The supermarkets were still being closely watched after Kantar Worldpanel’s data on market share earlier this week revealed that the big boys were suffering in the face of cheaper competitors. Yesterday analysts at Deutsche raised Morrisons to neutral but downgraded Tesco – taking it off their buy list because of the “competitive environment” with Lidl and Aldi stealing its cash-strapped customers. Morrisons rose 2.5p to 186.9p and Tesco fell 3p to 246.3p.

Completely out of favour was Ocado after Redburn Partners questioned its earnings potential and the strength of its technology. The broker slashed its target price for the online grocer from 500p to 257p and downgraded the company to a sell. In turn it declined 64.3p to 339.3p.

The overall sentiment in the markets was subdued. The FTSE 100 fell 24.86 points to 6,805.8. Miners were among the fallers as weaker iron ore prices in China held them back.

Rio Tinto was the worst-performing digger, down 126.5p at 3,209p, while Antofagasta slipped 18p to 790p and Anglo American tumbled 55.5p to 1,512.5p.

There was more bad news for investors in the shape of the inkjet printer specialist Xaar. Earlier this summer the company issued a profit warning and yesterday its half-year figures showed that pre-tax profits were down from £22.3m to £16.1m. Sales were down 10 per cent and the shares dipped 121p to 439p.