JP Morgan

Shares in UK online fashion retailer Asos rose by more than 30% on Wednesday after the company completed a £247m ($339.46m) share sale to shore up its balance sheet during the Covid-19 crisis. The rise reflects investor confidence that the fashion retailer will endure disruption from the pandemic causing a sharp drop in demand for fashionable clothes.

Chinese biopharmaceuticals firm Akesobio is preparing to launch bookbuilding for its IPO next week, according to a source close to the deal.

The controlling shareholder of South Korean entertainment company Studio Dragon raised W166.1bn ($136.2m) this week after selling a portion of its stake.

The top tier of emerging markets sovereigns are cramming into this week’s issuance window, as Abu Dhabi followed Qatar’s Tuesday blowout with a triple tranche bond deal of its own.

'We are all in this together' is not a view Europe’s investment banks will recognise when they compare themselves with their formidable US rivals, writes David Rothnie.

A trio of agencies hit screens with dollar deals on Tuesday. Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten and CDP Financial tapped the three year part of the curve, while the Ontario Teachers’ Finance Trust reopened a five year market that had been shuttered by coronavirus-related volatility.

Ireland impressed on-looking supranational, sovereign and agency bond bankers on Tuesday as it received its largest ever order book for a syndication. It was not the only eurozone sovereign in the market as Cyprus printed seven and 30 year bonds.

The State of Qatar on Tuesday issued a $10bn three tranche bond, with a final demand book in excess of $44bn. The deal came in the wake of extreme oil price volatility, though Qatar has buffers to protect it against any major economic shocks.

European corporates found a strong bond market on Monday after raising a record amount of bond funding last week, as the European Central Bank pours money into high grade debt.

Eurozone sovereigns extend their syndication spree this week with Cyprus and Ireland mandating banks for new deals on Monday. Both sovereigns are preparing bigger funding programmes in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Shares in UK newsagent chain WH Smith rose more than 4% on Monday morning after it confirmed it was preparing a capital increase to repair its balance sheet after the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus led to a large drop in the number of shoppers at its lucrative airport stores.

The corporate bond market made a blazing start to Monday with deals for Repsol, Naturgy and LafargeHolcim on screens, as issuers cram what they can into a shortened week.