Sharewatch: Reed Falls On Cautious Results
Reed was seen in the spotlight, falling 7.09% revealing it is bracing itself for a slowdown in 2004.
According to yesterday’s results, profits at the Anglo-Dutch publisher rose by 3% in the first half of 2003 and its market performance has remained encouraging. Sales growth in the Science & Medical and Legal divisions is more than offsetting weakness in Education and Business (see Reed Cautious On 2004 Prospects).
Broader market sentiment continued to be undermined by the dollars weakness and the currency hit record lows against the Euro for the fifth consecutive day yesterday. The greenback was hit by an unexpected rise in weekly US jobless claims which sent ripples through the fragile market.
The closing prices of media company shares on Thursday were:
