FTSE 100 Led Lower By Mining and Energy Shares
0810 GMT - The FTSE 100 falls 0.2% to 7901 points, led by mining and energy stocks, as worries about a weaker global economic outlook weigh. "A forecast deterioration in the health of the global economy is weighing on minds, pushing equities lower as investors mull the impact of further punishing interest rate hikes," Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Susannah Streeter writes. Investors are assessing the prospect that demand for energy and metals will wane if economies contract, she says. Meanwhile, there will be fresh concerns about more takeovers of London-listed companies with IK Investment Partners agreeing to buy Medica, providing further evidence that U.K. assets are considered cheap due to the impact of Brexit, the weaker pound, and the stagnating U.K. economy, she says. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
COMPANIES NEWS:
Frasers Increases Stake in N. Brown
N. Brown Group PLC said Monday that Frasers Group PLC has increased its interest in the company.
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Jubilee Metals Backs 2023 Production Guidance After Robust 1Q
Jubilee Metals Group PLC said Monday that 2023 production guidance for platinum group metals and copper remains unchanged, while chrome is expected to exceed.
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Pineapple Power Enters Preliminary Agreement for Reverse Takeover With Element 2 Ltd.
Pineapple Power Corp. said Monday that it entered into a nonbinding preliminary agreement on Friday with U.K.-based hydrogen refueling business Element 2 Ltd. to acquire all outstanding shares in the latter.
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Narf Industries Names John Herring as Executive Chairman
Narf Industries PLC said Monday that it has appointed independent nonexecutive director John Herring as executive chairman with immediate effect.
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Asimilar Swung to FY 2022 Loss on Portfolio Declines; Share Trading Restored
Asimilar Group PLC said Monday that it swung to a pretax loss in fiscal 2022 as its portfolio value declined, and trading in its shares has been restored.
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Shanta Gold's CEO Eric Zurrin to Step Down
Shanta Gold Ltd. said Monday that Chief Executive Officer Eric Zurrin will step down from the role.
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Keystone Law's FY 2023 Pretax Profit Flat on Year, Revenue Grew
Keystone Law Group PLC said Monday that its pretax profit came in flat in fiscal 2023, but revenue grew on strong demand.
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Spectra Systems CFO Colleen Hamill Resigns
Spectra Systems Corp. said Monday that Chief Financial Officer Colleen Hamill has resigned.
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Cordel Appoints John Davis as CEO
Cordel Group PLC said Monday that it has appointed John Davis as chief executive officer with immediate effect.
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Christie Group's 2022 Pretax Profit Rose on Postpandemic Recovery
Christie Group PLC said Monday that its pretax profit rose 13% in 2022, due to increased revenue on the back of a recovery from its pandemic performance, especially in its Professional & Financial Services division.
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THG Taps Sue Farr as Senior Independent Director
THG PLC said Monday that it has appointed Sue Farr as senior independent director with immediate effect, replacing Dean Moore, who was undertaking the position in a interim basis.
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Insig AI to Report Revenue Rise for FY 2023; To Raise GBP900,000 via Subscription
Insig AI PLC said Monday that it expects to report a rise in revenue for fiscal 2023, and that it will raise 900,000 pounds ($1.1 million) via a subscription.
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React Group Sees 1H Higher Revenue, Profit on Sales Growth
React Group PLC on Monday said it expects to report higher revenue and gross profit for the first half of fiscal 2023 driven by good sales growth in its three divisions from positive contract win momentum over the period.
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Kaspi.kz 1Q Revenue Rose as Performance Across Platforms Improved
Kaspi.kz JSC said Monday that first-quarter revenue soared on the back of improved performance across all its platforms.
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Gulf Marine Services 2022 Pretax Profit Fell on Higher Costs; Backs Guidance
Gulf Marine Services PLC said Monday that 2022 pretax profit fell after booking higher costs and backed its guidance for 2023.
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Brighton Pier 18-Month Pretax Profit Benefited from Pent-up Demand; Reduces Debt
Brighton Pier Group PLC said Monday that pretax profit for the 18 months ending Dec. 25 benefited from a pent-up consumer demand and government support programs, while it managed to repay nearly half of its debt following the easing of pandemic restrictions.
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Lok 'n Store 1H Profit Fell; Revenue Rose
Lok 'n Store Group PLC said Monday that revenue for the first half of fiscal 2023 rose but pretax profit fell, as the previous period benefited from the sale of four stores.
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Mind Gym Sees FY 2023 Revenue Rise, Pretax Profit in Line
Mind Gym PLC on Monday said it expects to report a 12% revenue growth for fiscal 2023 driven by good momentum in the second half of the year and that it remains confident in the group's prospects.
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CentralNic 1Q Revenue Grew; Sees Performance at Least in Line With Market Views
CentralNic Group PLC said Monday that revenue rose 24% in the first quarter of 2023, and that it sees its performance to continue at least in line with market expectations.
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Medica Group Agrees to GBP269 Mln Takeover by IK Investment Partners
Medica Group PLC said Monday that it has agreed to a 269 million-pound ($334.6 million) takeover by IK Investment Partners.
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Checkit FY 2023 Pretax Loss Widened on Higher Costs; To Meet FY 2024 Market Views
Checkit PLC said Monday that its pretax loss widened for fiscal 2023 after booking higher costs, and that the board expected to meet market expectations for fiscal 2024.
MARKET TALK:
UK DMO Could Lower FY2023-24 Gilt Remit by GBP5-10B
0834 GMT - U.K. public sector finances data due on Tuesday are expected to show a surplus between the gilt remit and the government's net cash requirements in the fiscal year 2022-23, write RBC Capital Markets analysts. As a result, the U.K. Debt Management Office could reduce its funding remit in FY2023-24 by around GBP5 billion to GBP10billion, they write. "With FY2022-23 gilt issuance now complete, any difference between the FY2022-23 net Central Government Net Cash Requirement (CGNCR) outturn shown in Tuesday's data compared with the estimate from the March economic and fiscal outlook will be reflected in revisions to the DMO's FY2023-24 funding remit," they write. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)
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UK Housing Market Stabilizes as Mortgage Rates Fall, Rents Rise
0831 GMT - The U.K. housing market appears to be stabilizing, as average asking prices rose by 0.2% on-month and 1.7% on-year in April, Interactive Investor says, citing new data from Rightmove. Stability is improving as mortgage rates come off the highs seen in the aftermath of the government's short-lived "minibudget", rental price rises making buying look increasingly attractive, and sellers are cutting asking prices to bolster demand for properties, Interactive head of investment Victoria Scholar says in a market comment. "The economy is also proving to be more resilient than last year's expectations with the U.K. now forecast to stave off a recession this year as inflation finally cools," Scholar says. Shares in Barratt Development, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon are down 0.1%, 0.4% and 0.1% respectively. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)
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Keystone Law's Recent Share Weakness Is an Opportunity to Buy
0829 GMT - Keystone Law's recent share-fall is unjustified and the share weakness is an opportunity to buy, Shore Capital analyst Jamie Murray writes in research note. The London-listed law firm's shares have fallen 15% from recent highs in early March, likely due to weakened investor sentiment from the banking crisis, Murray says. Keystone Law narrowly beat expectations to fiscal 2023 despite challenging macroeconomic backdrop and boasts a best-in-class service line offering with corporate activity accounting for just 16% of revenue, the analyst says. "We would use the recent weakness to buy the shares," he says. Shore Capital has a buy rating on the stock. Shares are down 0.6%. (christian.moess@wsj.com)
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Developed Markets Central Banks Expected to Increase Rates Further But Peak Is Near
0822 GMT - Central bank meetings in May are likely to signal the end of the most aggressive monetary policy tightening cycle in decades, ING global head of macro Carsten Brzeski and developed markets economist James Smith write. Most central banks across the developed world--including the U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England--are set to raise interest rates further in the short term, while policy rates have largely peaked in central and eastern Europe as well as in Asia, they say. "Cracks are starting to form in the most interest-sensitive parts of the economy. Rate cuts are on the horizon, and we expect the first central banks to start loosening policy before the end of the year," ING says. (xavier.fontdegloria@wsj.com)
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Christie Group Shares Seen as Undervalued
0812 GMT - Christie Group shares trade at a significant discount after the company booked 2022 results beating market expectations, Shore Capital analyst Rob Sanders writes in a research note. The professional-services provider's strong 2022 result reflects the recovery that began in 3Q 2020, the evident strength and recovery of its divisions, the GBP7.2 million net cash position, and the elimination of the pension deficit, Sanders says. The latter gives the company "an even stronger balance sheet to use to grow its business through investment and fund a progressive dividend policy, as evidenced by the 25% increase in the 2022 dividend to 3.75 pence," he says. Shore Capital acts as broker to the company and doesn't provide recommendations on the stock. (christian.moess@wsj.com)
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Frenkel Topping's Sales-Growth Plan Seen Boosting Shares
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
04-24-23 0451ET
