MARKET REPORT: Alphawave IP shares slump after tech group slips into the red

The nightmare continues for technology group Alphawave IP.

Shares in the Canadian company, which listed on the London Stock Exchange at 410p in May 2021, fell another 12.2pc, or 18p, to 129p after another bleak update.

The firm, which designs technology that helps data travel faster, posted an operating loss of £2.1m for the first half of the year having made a profit of £24.5m in the same period last year.

Revenues were up, however, jumping 228pc to £153m and the company insisted the outlook for the year was unchanged with ‘increased profitability expected’ in the second half of the year.

But it was not enough to prevent another heavy sell-off.

Investor confidence in Alphawave has been hit hard since its float and in May the shares were suspended when KPMG requested more time to audit its results. When the figures were published, it emerged profits were almost £6m lower than previously reported. Finance boss Daniel Aharoni stood down. Stock markets across Europe started the week on the back foot and London was no different.

The FTSE 100 fell 0.8pc, or 59.92 points, to 7623.99 and the FTSE 250 dropped 1pc, or 191.53 points, to 18415.31.

Sentiment was hit by ongoing concerns about the outlook for interest rates in the United States, the world’s biggest economy, and problems in the Chinese property market.

Investors believe that while interest rates may have peaked in the US, the Federal Reserve has no intention of significant cuts any time soon, with ‘higher for longer’ the new mantra.

At the same time, shares in troubled

Chinese giant Evergrande, the world’s most indebted property developer, plunged as much as 24pc after it revealed it was unable to issue new debt.

Mining stocks were among those on the slide in London amid fears of weak demand from China, with Anglo American losing 1.3pc, or 29.5p, to 2218.5p, Rio Tinto sliding 1.9pc, or 98p, to 5085p and Antofagasta shedding 2.1pc, or 29.5p, to 1392.5p. Burberry (down 4.5pc, or 90.5p, to 1914.5p) and Prudential (down 2.7pc, or 24.4p, to 876.8p), which do plenty of business in China, were also hit.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: ‘The twin worries about the ongoing fragility in China’s economy and high interest rates lingering for longer in the United States have quashed hopes of a dose of Monday motivation to start the week.

‘The FTSE 100 has opened in the red, with miners among the companies on the back foot.’

Back in London, Astrazeneca was on the move after a brace of upgrades from City analysts. Jefferies lifted the shares from ‘hold’ to ‘buy’ and raised the price target from 10,500p to 13,000p while Morgan Stanley raised its price target to 12,900p from 12,700p.

Astrazeneca shares gained 1.3pc, or 148p, to 11194p.

Morgan Stanley also raised its target price for rival drug maker GSK, from 1440p to 1585p. In a further boost, GSK’s new vaccine for RSV was given the green light by Japanese regulators. The Arexvy jab was approved for use in adults over the age of 60 in an effort to reduce the 4,500 in-hospital deaths in the age group each year from the virus.

The approval is the first in Asia and follows similar moves in the US, UK and EU. Shares inched up 0.5pc, or 8p, to 1535.8p.

Shares in Gulf Keystone Petroleum soared 10pc, or 10p, to 110p after it said sales of oil from its Shaikan Field in the Kurdistan region of Iraq have picked up to around 28,800 barrels per day this month from 17,200 in August and 4,900 in July.