FTSE 100 Rises as Mining, Oil Stocks Gain
0840 GMT - The FTSE 100 index rises 1.5%, or 108 points to 7370 as miners and oil stocks gain on the back of rising crude and metal prices. Antofagasta, Anglo American, Glencore, Rio Tinto and BHP are the top blue-chip risers as precious and base-metal prices increase, while BP and Shell both advance more than 1% as Brent crude climbs 1.5% to $90.51 a barrel. "A tentative recovery in stocks continued into the Asia session, while the U.S. dollar also eased back despite comments from Fed chairman Powell about the need for more rate hikes to fight inflation," IG analysts say in a note. (philip.waller@wsj.com)
Companies News:
Land Securities Chief Operating Officer to Step Down
Land Securities Group PLC said Friday that Chief Operating Officer Colette O'Shea will step down as director on Sept. 30, and step down from the COO role from March 31 after a transitional period.
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Victoria Says Revenue, Earnings, Cashflow in Line With Views
Victoria PLC said Friday that revenue, earnings and cashflow since the start of fiscal 2023 were in line with consensus market expectations, and that management continues to successfully navigate through the current macroeconomic challenges.
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B90 Holdings Raises GBP305,000 for Use Toward Organic Growth
B90 Holdings PLC said Friday that it has raised 305,000 pounds ($350,872) through a subscription, with the proceeds to be used toward working capital and to invest in marketing to support organic growth.
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LSEG's Planned Acquisition of Quantile Provisionally Cleared by UK Regulator
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority on Friday provisionally cleared the London Stock Exchange Group PLC's planned 274 million pound ($315.2 million) acquisition of Quantile Group Ltd. following an in-depth review of the deal.
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ASOS Sees FY 2022 Sales, Profit in Line With Market Views
ASOS PLC said Friday that it expects sales and profit for fiscal 2022 to be in the range of market expectations, but warned that sales in August were weaker than expected.
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XP Factory Sees 1H Revenue Significantly Rising; Acquires Cardiff Site
XP Factory PLC said Friday that it expects first half revenue to significantly grow on-year, and it has acquired Boom Battle Bar Cardiff Ltd. for an enterprise value of 2.2 million pounds ($2.5 million).
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Europa Oil & Gas Secures GBP1 Mln Loan Facility
Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) PLC said on Friday that it has secure a 1 million pounds ($1.2 million) loan facility with Union Jack Oil PLC for liquidity purposes.
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Computacenter 1H Pretax Profit Fell Due to Strong Base Effect
Computacenter PLC said Friday that first-half pretax profit fell as the prior-year figure was strong due to Covid-19 and supply shortages for IT equipment altering customer buying behaviors in 2020 and 2021.
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Manolete to Report a GBP5 Mln 1H Pretax Loss on Adverse Ruling, Cases Review
Manolete Partners PLC said Friday that it expects to report a pretax loss of around 5 million pounds ($5.8 million) for the first half of fiscal 2023, mostly stemming from the adjustment of unrealized revenue and profit.
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Gear4Music Lowers FY 2023 View Amid Cost-of-Living Crisis, Hot Summer
Gear4Music (Holdings) PLC said Friday that it has lowered its expectations for fiscal 2023 amid the cost-of-living crisis and unusually hot weather across Europe.
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AssetCo Seeks Stakeholder Approval to Repurchase 10% of Share Capital
AssetCo PLC said Friday that it intends to seek approval from shareholders for the authority to make market purchases of its shares representing up to 10% of its issued share capital, or around 9.7 million pounds ($11.2 million).
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Hardide to Raise GBP500,000 in Share Issue for Near-Term Cash Needs
Hardide PLC said Friday that it intends to raise around 500,000 pounds ($575,200) in a share placing and subscription to satisfy near-term cash requirements, though it will require further capital.
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Insig AI FY 2022 Pretax Loss Widened, Sees Further Revenue Increase
Insig AI PLC said Friday that pretax loss for the fiscal 2022 nearly tripled as the company booked higher costs, and that it expects revenue to increase from the second half of the new fiscal year.
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Argo Blockchain Enters Hosting Services Agreement, Will Get 25% of Profits
Argo Blockchain PLC said Friday that it has entered a strategic hosting services agreement with an undisclosed third party, receiving 25% of net profits from Bitcoin mined by hosted mining machines.
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London Security 1H Pretax Profit Fell as Inflation Pushed up Costs
London Security PLC said Friday that first-half pretax profit fell after it booked higher costs due to inflation pressures, and that rising prices have hurt business confidence.
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Wise PLC Shareholders' Valar Funds Cut Stake Below 3%
Wise PLC said Friday that certain Valar funds managed by James Fitzgerald and Andrew McCormack have reduced their shareholding in the company to below 3% of its issued share capital.
Market Talk:
Computacenter's Track Record Still Undervalued
0854 GMT - Computacenter's first-half print reflects a combination of pre-Covid-19 seasonality and the enlarged order book, but the company's track record continues to be undervalued, Jefferies's Charles Brennan and Alex Nguyen say in a research note. The U.K. information-technology group's 1H profit decline was always expected by management as it returns to a more-normal split of sales volumes against tough comparators and it continues to hold higher-than-average inventory due to continued supply-chain pressure on working capital, they say. Jefferies reiterates its buy rating on the stock but lowers its target price to 3,000 pence from 3,300 pence to reflect share-price weakness across the sector. Shares trade down 9.5% at 2,230.00 pence. (kyle.morris@dowjones.com)
ASOS's Sales Slowdown Not Surprising, Jefferies Says
0747 GMT - ASOS released a profit warning about weakened August sales that shouldn't surprise the markets given the macroeconomic headwinds, analysts at Jefferies Andrew Wade and Grace Gilberg say in a research note. The online fashion retailer is expected to report a revenue growth of 2.8% and pretax profit of GBP27 million--both in line with market expectations range--, they say. "The lack of guidance on FY 2023 will have to wait for the results in October, but with negative momentum, company-specific headwinds, and growing macro pressures, we see downside risk to consensus," they add. Jefferies has a hold recommendation on the stock and a target price of 775 pence. (michael.susin@wsj.com)
ASOS's Gross Margin Could Grow Despite Weaker Consumer Backdrop
0734 GMT - ASOS unscheduled update showed a cautious outlook as the company's performance is expected to continue under pressure due to a challenging consumer environment, RBC Capital Markets analysts say in a research note. Despite weaker sales in August, the online fashion retailer's gross margin can benefit from the current inventory profile and a tighter buying for next year, they say. The ease of freight prices could also work as a tailwind, they note. "We still believe in the long-term fundamentals of the equity story, although this will be difficult to showcase in a worsening backdrop," they add. RBC has an outperform rating on the stock and a price target of 2,000 pence. (michael.susin@wsj.com)
Contact: London NewsPlus; paul.larkins@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
09-09-22 0522ET
