The FTSE 100 closed down 0.01% as stronger-than-expected jobs
data in the U.S. increased the possibility of more high rate rises
by the Federal Reserve. "It appears that the Fed can push on yet
further, putting another 75 bps rise in play for September," IG
analyst Chris Beauchamp says in a note. WPP was the day's biggest
faller, closing down 8.8%, followed by Ocado and Dechra
Pharmaceuticals, down 6.3% and 5.4% respectively. Hargreaves
Lansdown was the session's biggest riser despite a fall in AuM for
FY 2022, closing up 5%, followed by Antofagasta, up 3.6% and Airtel
Africa, up 2.6%.
Companies News:
Amur Minerals Shares Rise on Proposed Disposal of Russian
Project
Amur Minerals Corp. shares rose significantly on Friday after
the company proposed the disposal of the Kun-Manie nickel-copper
project in Russia for $35 million to Bering Metals LLC, and said it
will pay shareholders a special dividend.
---
WPP 1H Pretax Profit Rose; Lifts 2022 Organic Growth
Guidance
WPP PLC said Friday that first-half pretax profit rose on broad
growth and that it has raised its organic growth guidance for the
full year.
---
Light Science Shares Fall on Wider 1H Pretax Loss
Light Science Technologies Holdings PLC shares fell Friday after
it said that its first-half pretax loss for fiscal 2022 widened on
continued investment and marketing.
---
Royal London Mutual Insurance Society Swung to 1H Pretax Loss on
Negative Market Movements
Royal London Mutual Insurance Society Ltd. on Friday reported a
swing to pretax loss for the first half of the year on falls in
equity and bond markets.
---
Trident Royalties 2Q Receipts Jumped on Gold, Copper, and Iron
Ore Exposure
Trident Royalties PLC said Friday that second-quarter royalty
receipts jumped significantly due to gold, copper, and iron ore
exposure.
---
Kromek Group Raises GBP1.7 Mln To Minimize Potential Supply
Chain Disruptions
Kromek Group PLC shares rose on Friday after the company said
that it has completed a 1.7 million pounds ($2.1 million)
fundraising via an issue of convertible loan notes.
---
Deepverge 1H Revenue Rose; Expects to Miss 2022 Market Views
Deepverge PLC said Friday that its first-half revenue nearly
doubled, but it expects full-year revenue to miss market
expectations, and forecasts lower earnings.
---
Inspired Energy Sees 1H in Line With Views as ESG Business Gains
Traction
Inspired Energy PLC said Friday that it expects to report a
performance for the first half of 2022 in line with the board's
expectations, driven by a robust performance and improved cash
generation.
---
Oracle Power Raises GBP500,000 Via Discounted Share Placing
Oracle Power PLC said Friday that it has raised 500,000 pounds
($607,950) via a discounted share placing to continue working in
the company's green-hydrogen project.
---
Carr's Group Appoints Peter Page as CEO; CFO Neil Austin to Step
Down
Carr's Group PLC said Friday that it has appointed Peter Page as
chief executive and that Chief Financial Officer Neil Austin has
decided to step down in January.
---
Carr's Group 22-Week Trading in Line
Carr's Group PLC said Friday that trading in the 22-week period
ended July 30 has been in line with the board's expectations.
---
Impala Platinum Expects Fall in FY 2022 Basic Earnings After
Prior Year Boosted by One-Offs
Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. said Friday that basic earnings
for fiscal 2022 are expected to decrease between 29% and 35% to
between 30.5 billion South African rand and 33.5 billion South
African rand ($1.84 billion-$2.02 billion) after the prior-year
period benefited from one-offs.
---
Pendragon Says GBP405.1M Takeover Plan Has Been Dropped
Pendragon PLC said Friday that it had received a 405.1 million
pound ($492.6 million) takeover proposal from an unnamed large
international corporate, but that this has now been withdrawn.
---
Pets at Home's 1Q Revenue Rose on Continued Customer Growth
Pets at Home Group PLC said Friday that its performance for the
first quarter of fiscal 2023 was strong, marked by revenue growth
amid a rising number of customers and levels of retention.
---
Hargreaves Lansdown FY 2022 Assets Under Administration Fell
Amid Lower Activity
Hargreaves Lansdown PLC on Friday reported a fall in assets
under administration for fiscal 2022 as investors' confidence
slumped, but raised its views for fiscal 2023.
---
Capita 1H Adj. Pretax Profit Rose on Cost Efficiencies, End of
Major Spend
Capita PLC said Friday that its first-half pretax profit and
revenue both rose on an adjusted basis and slipped on a reported
basis, and that it was on track to accelerate revenue growth in the
second half.
---
London Stock Exchange Group 1H Pretax Profit Rose, Sets Out
GBP750 Mln Buyback
London Stock Exchange Group PLC reported on Friday a significant
rise in pretax profit for the first half of 2022 and said it is
launching a share buyback program with an aggregate value of up to
750 million pounds ($911.9 million).
Market Talk:
BOE Gilt Sales to Be Slower Than Expected, May Continue Even if
Rates Fall
1419 GMT - The Bank of England on Thursday said it was
"provisionally" minded to start gilt sales under quantitative
tightening at GBP10 billion per quarter, which Capital Economics
says is slower than the GBP15 billion per quarter it had expected.
Capital Economics had also assumed active gilt sales would cease
once the BOE started to cut rates, but the central bank said
Thursday that sales would probably continue regardless of whether
it was raising or cutting rates, senior U.K. economist Ruth Gregory
says in a note. The economic research group now thinks "risks are
skewed towards interest rates being cut sooner," she says.
(jessica.fleetham@wsj.com)
---
Aviva's Strategic Plan, Cash Returns in Focus
1301 GMT - Aviva's strategic plan is in focus ahead of the
insurer's first-half earnings report amid pressure from activist
investors for it to cut costs and increase cash returns, AJ Bell's
Russ Mould and Danni Hewson say in a research note. An update is
expected on the plan to cut GBP400 million of costs by 2023, with
activist investor Cevian Capital calling for a GBP500 million cut,
the U.K. brokerage says. Investors will also be looking for news of
extra cash returns as well as an update on the purchase of the U.K.
wealth manager Succession Wealth, AJ Bell say.
(michael.susin@wsj.com)
---
Capita's 1H Results Were Reassuringly In-Line With
Expectations
1227 GMT - Capita's first-half results didn't have any big
surprises--which is good given its major restructuring--and further
positive news should be expected on disposals over the next six
months, RBC Capital Markets says. The U.K. outsourcing business is
confident in delivering revenue and profit growth for 2022, and
remains on track to deliver positive free cash flow for the year,
RBC analyst Andrew Brooke says in a research note. "We continue to
see upside on a [sum-of-the-parts basis] but clearly not without
risks," he says. RBC retains its outperform rating on the stock and
42.0 pence price target. Shares are down 6.7% at 27.38 pence.
(joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)
---
Canadian Overseas' Discovery Confirmation Could Justify New Well
Investment
1154 GMT - Canadian Overseas Petroleum's independent report
unveiled today confirming an oil discovery at its Wyoming asset is
encouraging, while it stops short of the board's expectations in
some aspects, Alternative Resources Capital analyst Dragan Trajkov
says in a research note. The report shows what the final outcome
could be and fully justifies further investment on a horizontal
well to evaluate the discovery's potential, he adds. However, the
report classifies one of the reserves as a prospective
resource--rather than a discovery--differing from the views of the
oil-and-gas company. "We expect the market to wait for these
results before assigning a meaningful value to this potential,"
Trajkov adds. (michael.susin@wsj.com)
---
European Stocks Fall as Traders Eye US Jobs Data
1033 GMT - European stocks fall as investors weigh corporate
earnings and look ahead to the key U.S. nonfarm payrolls report
later Friday. The Stoxx Europe 600 drops 0.3%, the FTSE 100
declines 0.2%, the DAX sheds 0.2% and the CAC 40 slips 0.6%.
Advertising giant WPP and defense company Rheinmetall fall 7.3% and
6.6%, respectively, after posting their first-half results.
Investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown rises 5.6% after its
full-year earnings and logistics firm Deutsche Post rises 4.8%
after its second-quarter results. July's payrolls data are due at
1230 GMT. "Our US economists expect a 250k print, down from 372k in
June but enough to tip the unemployment rate lower to 3.5% from
3.6%," Deutsche Bank analysts say in a note.
(renae.dyer@wsj.com)
---
WPP's 1H Looks Solid But Investors Seem Worried by Economic
Backdrop
1003 GMT - WPP's first-half numbers look fairly solid, but
investors are concerned about the economic backdrop and what it
says about the company's prospects, hence the negative share
reaction, AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould says in a note.
"Clearly there is a belief that WPP's recent momentum, which helped
it lift its annual sales outlook, can't last in the long-term,"
Mould says. A big retrenchment in spending by clients feels likely
to come at some point, he says. Shares trade down 7.4% at 826.60
pence. (kyle.morris@dowjones.com)
---
Inspired Looks Set for Growth Thanks to ESG Focus Boost
0850 GMT - Inspired started a track of solid growth through 2021
as it built up its operations in energy-optimization services and
by launching ESG services, Shore Capital analyst Robin Speakman
says in a research note. "We model organic investment flowing into
these operations to drive [growth]," the analyst says. Despite the
challenging market conditions and macroeconomic backdrop, the
energy consultancy could benefit not only from economic growth
drivers, but from regulatory tailwinds, he notes.
(michael.susin@wsj.com)
---
Sterling Seen Extending Losses After BOE Decision
0824 GMT - Sterling should weaken further against the dollar as
the Bank of England's latest policy decision has encouraged markets
to price in more interest rate cuts for next year and beyond, MUFG
Bank says. The BOE on Thursday lifted its key rate 50 basis points
to 1.75% but it forecast a recession from the fourth quarter and
expects inflation to undershoot its target by a larger amount in
three years' time, MUFG currency analyst Lee Hardman says in a
note. "It sends a strong dovish signal that lower rates will be
needed once upside inflation risks have passed in the near-term."
MUFG expects GBP/USD to fall to 1.1790 by the end of the third
quarter. GBP/USD drops 0.1% to 1.2148. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
---
Hargreaves Lansdown's FY 2023 Revenue Could Be at Top End of
Guidance
0810 GMT - Hargreaves Lansdown reported a better-than-expected
FY 2022 performance while its revenue margin for FY 2023 is likely
to be at the top end of its new guidance, Shore Capital analyst Ben
Williams says in a research note as the company's shares rise 3.2%.
Besides higher revenue, the retail-investment platform also expects
lower costs backed on technology investments, Williams says. The
investor focus, however, is likely to remain on the FY 2026
targeted existing business net inflows of GBP10 million, GBP5
billion into active savings and GBP5 billion into the forthcoming
augmented advice, he says. Shore has a hold recommendation on the
stock. (michael.susin@wsj.com)
---
WPP Share Price Looks Modest for Company With Strong
Prospects
0801 GMT - WPP's current share price looks extremely modest for
a well-managed, market-leading, global company that offers the
prospect of strong medium-term growth and cash generation, Shore
Capital's Roddy Davidson says in a research note. The London-based
advertising group's shares look to have suffered disproportionately
from worries over advertising spending, he says. "More broadly, we
believe that WPP is extremely well placed to drive growth by
harnessing its deep digital skill set, extensive resources, and
comprehensive global offering to add substantial value to its
blue-chip client base and to capitalize on a positive medium-term
advertising spend backdrop," Davidson says. Shore Capital has a buy
rating on the stock. (kyle.morris@dowjones.com)
Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires;
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 05, 2022 12:38 ET (16:38 GMT)
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