Rupert Murdoch’s REA Group is interested in bidding for Rightmove, the UK’s leading property portal.

In a move that would be a real kick in the teeth for London’s equity market and the British property landscape, Australian real estate media giant REA Group has announced it is considering a takeover bid for Rightmove.

REA Group, owned by Rupert Murdoch, has confirmed it is weighing up a possible cash and share offer for the entire issued and to-be-issued share capital of Rightmove. However, it notes that no formal discussions have taken place between the two companies, and REA Group has not yet approached Rightmove regarding any potential offer.

Nonetheless, Rightmove shares were over 23% higher in very early trade on Monday.

If Rightmove were to leave London’s stock market, it would follow in the footsteps of peer OnTheMarket, who accepted a £100m bid from US property information company CoStar in 2023.

Used by millions, Rightmove has built a deep moat and is one of the UK’s most widely visited websites and the leading property portal. Searching on Rightmove is synonymous with entering and moving up the UK property ladder.

REA Group views this potential merger as a transformational opportunity to create a global and diversified digital property company with market-leading positions in both Australia and the UK.

The potential takeover bid taps into the British public’s long-standing obsession with property. For decades, homeownership has been a cornerstone of British culture, with property often seen as both a home and an investment.

If London’s equity markets cannot support companies so deeply entrenched in the UK’s obsession with property by providing the right environment to fend off overseas bids, we are truly in dire straits.

REA Group believes that the enlarged group would represent an attractive investment opportunity for shareholders of both companies.

We will have to wait and see if Rightmove’s board and shareholders agree.

As per UK takeover rules, REA Group must announce a firm intention to make an offer or declare it does not intend to make an offer by 5.00 p.m. on 30 September 2024. This deadline may only be extended with the consent of the Takeover Panel.

The FTSE 100 neared all-time highs on Friday as London’s leading index once again demonstrated its prowess as a safe-have equity index—if such an equity index exists.

London’s weighting towards commodities and defensive sectors has enabled the FTSE 100 to grind higher this week during the furore surrounding Nvidia’s earnings. It is now less than 1% from all-time highs.

“The FTSE 100 creeps ever closer to its all-time high, after opening 0.3% higher in early trading,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“It’s a stark reminder that panicking doesn’t do investors any favours, after the global sell-off earlier in the month has largely been brushed aside. Expect to see some drifting on the margin, but there won’t be too many catalysts to move markets today, meaning there’s every chance this could be the third week of gains in a row for the UK’s largest index.”

China-focused stocks helped support the index on Friday, with miners and Asia-focused financials ticking nicely higher.

“This followed reports of reform in the Chinese mortgage market, which helped lift shares in the world’s second largest economy,” said AJ Bell investment director, Russ Mould. 

However, it was the UK property sector doing the heavy lifting as we headed into the weekend, with LondonMetric, Vistry, and Land Securities doing the heavy lifting. The latest Nationwide House Price Index showed average house prices have increased 2.4% over the past year, and the Bank of England announced mortgage approvals are at the highest level since 2022.

“In the UK, house prices rose at their fastest pace since the end of 2022 on a year-on-year basis but were down month-on-month to hint at the continuing pressures on purchasers from higher mortgage costs, Mould explained.

“The property market could get a renewed boost if the Bank of England opts to follow up its August interest rate cut with another reduction next month. Core PCE inflation data, the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of prices, could offer some clues around the likely trajectory of rates across the Atlantic when it is released later today.”

Nvidia has undoubtedly been the world’s most closely watched stock this week.

Earnings released on Wednesday produced a disappointing reaction in the stock, but the results themselves were not a disappointment as they confirmed momentum in demand for chips was intact.

Expectations were high going into Nvidia’s earnings update this week, and anything less than a blowout to the upside was going to weigh on shares.

As the stock settles into a trading range, analysts at XS.com have provided technical commentary on the key levels for NVDA shares in the coming trading sessions:

“The better-than-expected report is likely to lead to price fluctuations with an upward bias, but the stock’s decline and breach of the 50-day moving average at $117.70 could result in further weakness,” said Rania Gule Senior Market Analyst at XS.com.

“Looking ahead to the medium and long term, the markets should respect four key technical price levels that may play a role if Nvidia’s shares continue to decline following yesterday’s strong earnings.

“The first support level is at $116. This area may provide initial support near the trendline connecting the May peak and the counter-trend price surge that occurred in early August. A move below this level could push the stock down to the $107 region, a key demand and reversal area on the daily chart between May and August.

“Further decline may lead to a retest of the crucial $99 level, where Nvidia shares are likely to encounter significant support near the March peaks, with the first of these peaks representing the previous all-time high for the stock.

“Lastly, it’s essential to watch the $91 zone, which is a lower price target for the descending column pattern from July to August, identified from the highest point of the recent price channel formation. Should such a move occur, it would confirm a descending channel pattern in the stock and could potentially lead to a retest of this month’s low at $90.70 in the medium term.”

Filtronic plc, a leading designer and manufacturer of products for aerospace, defence, space, and telecoms infrastructure markets, has announced a new production order from SpaceX valued at $8.4 million.

This order continues the demand for Filtronic’s E-band solid state power amplifier (SSPA) modules, crucial components in SpaceX’s Starlink satellite constellation.

The irrevocable order is set to be fulfilled in the calendar year 2025, prompting Filtronic to upgrade trading projections to be ahead of current market expectations for FY2025.

This latest contract win falls under the Strategic Partnership agreement signed in April 2024.

“We are delighted to receive another production order from our partner, SpaceX, as we continue to support the deployment of the Starlink constellation with E-band technology,” said Nat Edington, Chief Executive Officer of Filtronic.

The order has triggered SpaceX’s vesting of an additional 2,171,211 share warrants as part of the long-term partnership established between SpaceX and Filtronic earlier this year.

This brings the total number of vested warrants under the first tranche to 10,856,055, reaching the maximum 5% of the company’s share capital as stipulated in the agreement. With this milestone, Filtronic confirms that future E-band SSPA orders from SpaceX will no longer result in further warrant vestings under this tranche.