The FTSE 100 closed down 1.1% on Thursday after interest-rate hikes from both the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve. "The FTSE 100 has struggled despite resilience in basic resources and energy, on the back of firmer commodity prices, notably copper as well as oil and gas, with gains for Rio Tinto, Glencore, and BP amongst others. That's been as good as it gets on the positive side with weakness almost everywhere else," CMC Markets UK's chief market analyst Michael Hewson says. On a day punctuated by red, JD Sports led the fallers, down 8.4%, followed by Ashtead Group, down 7.3%, and Intermediate Capital, which ended 7.1% down.

Companies News: 

Segro COO Andy Gulliford to Retire in 2023

Segro PLC said Thursday that Chief Operating Officer Andy Gulliford will retire from the business in 2023.

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GSK Secures Urinary Tract Infections Treatment License With Spero Therapeutics

GSK PLC said Thursday that it has signed an exclusive license agreement with Spero Therapeutics Inc. to commercialize tebipenem HBr, an antibiotic currently in late-stage studies that may treat complicated urinary tract infections.

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Halma PLC Sees Good 1H Progress; Backs FY 2023 Guidance

Halma PLC said Thursday it expects to report good first-half progress, meeting management expectations, and that its order intake was ahead compared with the same period last year.

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Saint-Gobain Cleared by UK Regulator for GCP Takeover

The U.K. competition authority said Thursday that it wouldn't further its probe into Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA's planned takeover of GCP Applied Technologies Inc.

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LXI REIT Exchanges Contracts With Sainsbury's on GBP500M Grocery Store Portfolio

LXI REIT PLC said Thursday that it has exchanged contracts with J Sainsbury PLC to acquire a portfolio of grocery stores for 500 million pounds ($563.5 million), and it was in talks with investors over funding.

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JD Sports Fashion 1H Pretax Profit Fell on Higher Costs; Sales Rose

JD Sports Fashion PLC on Thursday reported a decline in pretax profit for the first half after booking higher costs, though it said sales increased because of high demand levels for its sports products.

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Smiths News Set to Beat FY 2022 Market Views on Strong Levels of Sales, Demand

Smiths News PLC said Thursday that its performance for the second half of fiscal 2022 was strong and it expects to end the financial year beating market views.

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Polymetal Swung to 1H Net Loss on Lower Gold Sales; Backs Guidance

Polymetal International PLC said Thursday that it swung to a first-half net loss as revenue fell on lower gold sales, and backed its production guidance for the year.

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PensionBee 1H Pretax Loss Widened; Sales Increased

PensionBee Group PLC reported on Thursday a widened pretax loss for the first half of 2022 after booking higher costs, though it said revenue and assets under administration increased significantly.

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Playtech 1H Pretax Profit Fell on Strong Comparative Period; Revenue Rose

Playtech PLC said Thursday that first-half pretax profit for 2022 fell significantly, despite higher revenue, as distribution costs rose and the comparative period recorded a large one-off benefit, and backed its full-year outlook.

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Aquis Exchange 1H Pretax Profit, Sales Fell on Market Volatility

Aquis Exchange Ltd. reported on Thursday a significant decline in pretax profit and sales for the first half of 2022 due to market volatility, but said that its current performance is in line with market expectations for the full year.

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Safestyle Swung to 1H Pretax Loss Due to Cyberattack; Shares Fall

Safestyle UK PLC shares fell after it said on Thursday that it swung to a pretax loss for the first half due to the costs and disruption from a cyberattack, and that it was reinstating dividend payments.

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Begbies Traynor Sees FY 2023 Profit in Line With Market Views

Begbies Traynor Group PLC said Thursday that it expects to achieve pretax profit for fiscal 2023 in line with market expectations, driven by an increasing demand in insolvency and restructuring cases.

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Time Finance FY 2022 Pretax Profit Fell; New Year Starts Well

Time Finance PLC said Thursday that its fiscal 2022 pretax profit fell and revenue slipped slightly, though the new year has started well with an increase in profit.

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PZ Cussons FY 2022 Pretax Profit Fell on Higher Costs; Raises Dividend

PZ Cussons PLC said Thursday that pretax profit for fiscal 2022 fell on higher costs, though it raised its dividend payout.

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Trakm8 Holdings Is Performing in Line With Market Expectations

Trakm8 Holdings PLC said Thursday that it has continued to perform in line with market expectations since Sept. 14 and remains confident to meet the board's views for this year, and an improved outlook for next.

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Learning Technologies 1H Pretax Profit Rose on Higher Revenue From Acquisition

Learning Technologies Group PLC said Thursday that first-half pretax profit rose as revenue increased due to the contributions from an acquisition and foreign exchange tailwinds, and that its performance has continued into the second half.

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GetBusy ARR Has Grown Since June 30, Backs Full-Year Guidance

GetBusy PLC said Thursday that annual recurring revenue at Aug. 31 has grown slightly since June 30, boosted by solid new business and monetization across the group, and backed its full-year guidance.

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Petro Matad Shares Fall on Widened 1H Loss, Continued Access Issues

Petro Matad Ltd. shares fell Thursday after the company said that first-half pretax loss widened and a land access issue surrounding its Heron 1 field in Mongolia is yet to be resolved.

 
Market Talk: 

BOE Lowers Inflation Expectations After Government's Energy Price Freeze

1121 GMT - The Bank of England has cut its inflation forecasts due to the government's plan to cap energy bills for households in the next two years. The peak in inflation is expected at just under 11% in October from the around 13% previously estimated, the bank said in a statement. "The [Energy Price] Guarantee is likely to limit significantly further increases in CPI inflation, and reduce its volatility, while supporting aggregate private demand relative to the Committee's August projections," the BOE said. "Energy bills will still go up and, combined with the indirect effects of higher energy costs, inflation is expected to remain above 10% over the following few months, before starting to fall back," it said. (xavier.fontdegloria@wsj.com)

Ceres Power Could Grow Earnings if Royalties, Electrolyzer Business Take off

1054 GMT - U.K.-based fuel-cell manufacturer Ceres Power could see material upside to earnings if its royalties model succeeds and its electrolyzer business takes off, analysts at RBC Capital Markets say in a research note. The bank sees Ceres reaching EBIT breakeven in 2025 and growing revenues at a more than 50% compound annual growth rate between 2022 and 2030 provided that the company's partners successfully scale their solutions in China and that it develops further partnerships in the electrolyzer space. The bank initiates coverage at sector perform on the stock, for which it has a price target of 600 pence. (maitane.sardon@wsj.com)

Begbies Update Seen as Encouraging as Insolvencies Trend Upward

0955 GMT - Begbies Traynor reported a positive performance update driven by buoyant activity across its businesses amid a difficult backdrop, Shore Capital analysts Vivek Raja and Jamie Murray say in a research note. The corporate restructuring company is benefiting from an upward trend in new insolvency appointments, the analysts note. Furthermore, Begbies's significantly increased scale and services offering adds to positive trends, the analysts add. Shares are up 2.7% at 144.8 pence. (michael.susin@wsj.com)

Halma M&A Activity Doesn't Justify Valuation Premium

0942 GMT - Halma edges 0.4% higher after the safety-equipment supplier flagged first-half progress and said its order intake was ahead of the same period last year. The trading update matched expectations and consensus forecasts are unlikely to change, given a lack of acquisitions apart from a previously noted deal in April, Jefferies says. "FX is continuing to move in Halma's favor and we suspect is being held in reserve to help compensate for what's described as a 'challenging' operating environment," Jefferies analyst David Farrell says in a note. "We remain underperform on Halma, with our view being that recent M&A performance fails to support the circa-95% enterprise value/EBITA premium the stock trades at relative to the sector." (philip.waller@wsj.com)

UK DMO Expected to Raise Gilt Issuance -- Market Talk

0941 GMT - Citi's rates strategists expect the U.K. Debt Management Office to increase the gilt remit by around GBP60 billion to GBP191.2 billion in a review on Friday. The increased issuance is aimed at funding the energy bailout for the winter. Citi expects more issuance in short- and medium-term gilts, but a reduction in issuance in long-dated and inflation-linked gilts. "The next two days, then, will likely underline the misalignment of monetary and fiscal policy," they say in a note, refering to the BOE's expected interest rate rise and selling of gilts alongside the DMO's issuance of record amounts of gilts at higher yields. Citi's strategists expect 10-year gilt yields to approach 4%. They last trade more than 3 basis points lower at 3.288%, according to Tradeweb. (emese.bartha@wsj.com)

 

Contact: London NewsPlus; paul.larkins@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 22, 2022 12:52 ET (16:52 GMT)

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