The FTSE 100 finished Wednesday up 0.75%, pushing back above 7,600 points, as the flood of buying seen earlier this week continued but at a more sedate pace. "After leaping higher in previous sessions, gains are becoming a little harder to come by for equity markets, but the overall outlook still seems positive, IG Group says. "The tech and telecoms sector has led the gains in the U.K. today, led by the likes of Auto Trader Group PLC, which is higher on the back of broker upgrade from Jefferies, while Vodafone Group PLC and BT Group PLC are doing well, as investors weigh up today's results from Vodafone, and ahead of BT's results tomorrow," CMC Markets UK says.
Companies News:
Empiric Student Property's Occupancy Rose at Upper End of Guidance
Empiric Student Property PLC said Wednesday that it achieved a good performance at the start of its 2021-22 academic year, with revenue occupancy increasing from the prior year.
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Softline Holding Increases Buyback to $100 Mln
Softline Holding PLC said Wednesday that it has increased its buyback program to $100 million to fund its long-term management incentive plan.
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Abrdn European Logistics Raises GBP38 Mln
Abrdn European Logistics Income PLC said on Wednesday that it has raised 38 million pounds ($51.4 million) via a placing and a retail offer.
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Glencore Backs 2022 Production Guidance After In-Line 2021 -- Update
Glencore PLC on Wednesday reaffirmed guidance for 2022, and said that its operations in 2021 performed in line with expectations.
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Origo Partners to Return $1.7 Mln to Shareholders; Sells Asset
Origo Partners PLC said Wednesday that it will return around $1.7 million to shareholders and that it has agreed to sell its interest in Moly World for $200,000.
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UK SPAC PLC Shares to Be Cancelled Thursday
U.K. SPAC PLC said Wednesday that while its planned acquisition of Hellenic Dynamics SA is progressing, it isn't expected to complete by the deadline, and its shares will therefore be cancelled from trading on Feb. 3.
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Longboat Energy to Abandon Ginny/Hermine Well in Norwegian Sea; Shares Falls
Longboat Energy PLC said Wednesday that it has failed to encounter hydrocarbons at the stacked Ginny/Hermine exploration prospects in the Norwegian Sea, and that the well will be plugged and abandoned.
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Wynnstay Group FY 2021 Pretax Profit Rose; FY 2022 Starts in Line With Views
Wynnstay Group PLC said Wednesday that its fiscal 2021 pretax profit rose as revenue increased, and that its performance in fiscal 2022 has started in line with expectations.
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Intercede Group Secures $500,000 Contract With U.S. Federal Agency
Intercede Group PLC said Wednesday that it has secured a $500,000 contract with an independent U.S. federal agency for the supply of its MyID credential management software.
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Beeks Signs $2.2 Mln Contract With FX Broker, Expects FY 2022 Revenue to Beat Market Views
Beeks Financial Cloud Group PLC said Wednesday that it has signed a $2.2 million contract with one of the largest foreign-exchange brokers for its recently launched Proximity Cloud offering.
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Residential Secure Income to Raise GBP39 Mln Via Share Placing
Residential Secure Income PLC said Wednesday that it will raise up to 20 million pounds ($27 million) via a share placing and use the funds to finance up to GBP39 million of shared ownership transactions that are currently in process.
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Scirocco Expects Greenan Generation Ebitda to Exceed Guidance
Scirocco Energy PLC on Wednesday forecast that its 50%-owned Greenan Generation Ltd. anaerobic-digestion business will generate higher-than-expected earnings in the first 12 months of ownership.
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Harbour Energy President, Europe CEO Phil Kirk to Step Down
Harbour Energy PLC said Wednesday that Phil Kirk, the company's president and Europe chief executive, will step down at the end of February.
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Amazon Created 25,000 Permanent Jobs Across UK in 2021
Amazon.com Inc. said Wednesday that its permanent U.K. workforce increased by 25,000 in 2021 across corporate functions, research and development, and operations.
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MasMovil in Talks to Buy Vodafone's Spain Subsidiary, El Confidencial Reports
--Spain's MasMovil is in talks with Vodafone Group PLC over the potential acquisition of the U.K.-based telecommunications company's subsidiary in the country, El Confidencial reports, citing sources.
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Playtech Doesn't Expect GBP2.1 Bln Aristocrat Proposal to Succeed -- Update
Playtech PLC said Wednesday that it doesn't expect the recommended 2.1 billion pounds ($2.84 billion) offer from Aristocrat (UK) Holdings Ltd. to achieve the minimum threshold required for approval and that it is evaluating proposals from third parties for the B2B and B2C businesses.
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Santander Expects Higher 2022 Profitability After 4Q Profit Jumps -- Update
Banco Santander S.A. said it expects higher profitability this year after it beat its profit guidance for 2021 with lower provisions and earnings in the U.K. and the U.S. boosting the lender's recovery.
Market Talk:
Severn Trent Shares Have Limited Scope for Gains
1239 GMT - Shares in Severn Trent rise 0.3% after the U.K. water and waste utility said it had met or exceeded most of its regulatory performance targets since late November. The company, which serves more than eight million people in central England and Wales, said that since November's interim results, there had been no material changes to its current business performance or outlook. "We continue to see Severn Trent as a quality name within the U.K. regulated space; however, we see limited upside at current levels and therefore maintain a sector-perform recommendation," RBC Capital Markets analyst Alexander Wheeler says.
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Pound to Rise if BOE Signals More Aggressive Rate Rises For 2022
1215 GMT - Sterling should rise if the Bank of England suggests a more aggressive pace of interest rate rises may be needed this year at Thursday's meeting, Ebury says. "We think that at least one hike a quarter is on the cards, and expect the bank's communications to leave the door open to such a possibility by not pushing back against market expectations," Ebury analyst Matthew Ryan says. Ebury expects a strong majority of BOE policymakers to vote in favor of raising the key rate by 25 basis points to 0.50%. GBP/USD rises 0.4% to its highest in more than a week at 1.3573, but EUR/GBP climbs 0.1% to 0.8347.
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Auto Trader Could See Re-Rating as It Benefits From Shift to Online Car Buying
1214 GMT - Auto Trader is set to benefit from a horizontal market trumping a vertical one in monetizing online car buying, Jefferies says. Analysts expect an acceleration in online car sales with a commensurate uplift in Auto Trader's average revenue-per-retailer growth, Jefferies says. The market is currently discounting mid-single-digit ARPR growth, with the FTSE 100 car-listing publisher both driving and benefiting from the migration of car buying online, it says. "With the forward price to earnings ratio on the two-year average and the lowest in the sector, we see room for a re-rating," the bank says. Jefferies upgrades its rating to buy from hold, raising the target price to 870 pence from 650p.
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Wynnstay Group Could Grow on Improving Market Conditions
1102 GMT - Wynnstay Group's FY 2021 results showed that the group is well-placed to take advantage of improving market conditions, Shore Capital says. Adjusted pretax profit for the supplier of agricultural products and services was 5% above of expectations, benefiting from increased farmer confidence and strong output prices, Shore said. The U.K. investment group expects to increase its manufacturing and processing capacity and to experience continued strong momentum into FY22, benefiting from the market backdrop as confidence in the future of the sector recovers. Shares are 1.4% higher at 590.0 pence.
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Harbour's Phil Kirk Departure Isn't Surprising
1045 GMT - Harbour Energy's Phil Kirk will step down as President, CEO Europe from Feb. 28. He was a founding director of Chrysaor, the company that formed Harbour after acquiring Premier Oil, and represented the public face of the group at City and industry meetings, RBC Capital Markets says. However, as the business grew and roles evolved, some changes were envisaged, and therefore the announcement isn't expected to surprise investors or materially impact investor sentiment. "While Phil 'considers other business opportunities', his successor faces the continued challenge of steering a heavily hedged oil and gas business and dealing with the threats and opportunities presented by decarbonising Harbour's U.K. operation," RBC says. Shares in the oil-and-gas company fall 2.9% on Wednesday morning, underperforming London-listed peers.
Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; Write to Sarka Halas at sarka.halas@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
02-02-22 1203ET
