Sharewatch: Media Stocks Plummet As Market Falters

A poor day’s trading across the board saw media stocks struggle yesterday with only one company closing on a high. Independent News & Media managed a slight 0.20% rise to close at 123˝p as London markets saw their worst day since the beginning of April.

Meanwhile, ITV saw its share price dip by 4.97% to finish at 114žp as the broadcaster confirmed it would buy SMG‘s 25% share in breakfast channel GMTV for £31 million. SMG closed down 4.03% at 113p (see ITV To Acquire SMG’s Stake In GMTV For £31 Million).

The Daily Mail was also hit hard yesterday, falling 4.15% to 623˝p as it emerged that the company’s partnership bid with Cinven for the Telegraph titles had collapsed. The newspaper group will now either continue with a solo bid and run the risk of intevention from competition watchdogs, or begin the search for a new partner with only 9 days until the deadline for bid applications (see Daily Mail Drops Cinven As Partner For Telegraph Bid).

The London blue chip index saw its biggest fall in eight weeks yesterday as investors feared an earlier than anticipated US interest rate rise. Fears of inflation were also rife in the City as the crude oil price reached $40 per barrel on Friday. The FTSE 100 closed down 2.3% at 4,395.2 while the FTSE 250 fell further, crashing 2.7% to 5942.5.

The closing prices of media company shares on Monday were:

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