The FTSE 100 closed down 0.20% at 7938 points on Tuesday despite rising earlier in the session, with a rise in manufacturing activity reigniting inflation concerns. "The U.K. stock market continued where it left off before the Easter break and briefly made a new 14-month high above the 8,000 mark despite disappointing U.K. house price data before ending the day flat," said Axel Rudolph, senior market analyst at online trading platform IG. Reckitt Benckiser Group, Entain, and Ocado Group were the session's biggest fallers, down 5.2%, 5% and 4.2%, respectively. Fresnillo was the day's highest riser, up 7.6%, followed by Anglo American and Shell, up 4.6% and 3.5% respectively.


COMPANIES NEWS:

Hochschild Mining Sells Peru Project for $15 Mln

Hochschild Mining said it sold its Crespo project in Peru to Kina Mining Peru for $15 million in cash.

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National World Sells Subsidiary to Naviga For $4.4 Mln

National World said it completed the sale of subsidiary Press Computer Systems to Naviga for 3.5 million pounds ($4.4 million).

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Claim for Suspension of X5 Retail Group's Rights in Subsidiary Accepted by Russian Court

X5 Retail Group said a claim to suspend its corporate rights in its subsidiary X5 Corporate Centre, filed by the Russian's Ministry of Industry and Trade, was accepted by Moscow's arbitrage court.

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Rentokil Acquires India's HiCare, Aims for Further M&A

Rentokil Initial acquired India's second-largest pest-control company HiCare from True North for an undisclosed sum, as the group seeks to expand its presence in India.


MARKET TALK:

Superdry's Likely To Delist After CEO Takeover Fails

0911 GMT - Superdry CEO Julian Dunkerton's withdrawal from his plans to take the embattled retailer private means Superdry could have to conduct a heavily discounted fundraising to stay alive, conditional on delisting the group from the stock market, AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould says in a note. "Investors now appear to be dumping the stock to get back anything they can, even if it means crystallizing a loss. In the absence of someone else throwing their hat in the ring and trying to buy the business, we can probably wave goodbye to Superdry as a listed entity," Mould says. The group has secured additional borrowing facilities which are insufficient and come with heavy interest rates, he adds. Shares are down 50% currently and down 87% on a 12-month basis. (michael.susin@wsj.com)

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L&G Expected to Focus on Retail, Asset Management

0906 GMT - Legal & General's U.K. wealth and private and real asset management are its most likely growth areas, UBS says ahead of the life insurance, pensions, retirement and investment services provider's Capital Markets Day in June. "We expect management to organically reduce dependence on L&G's capital intensive pension risk transfer (PRT) business by emphasizing the company's retail (particularly wealth) and asset management (particularly private assets) capabilities," the analysts write in a note. They expect the group to combine Legal & General Capital and Legal & General Investment Management and to raise its stakes in its current asset management partnerships such as Pemberton. Shares in London have risen 0.8% since the start of the year and trade at 253 pence.(elena.vardon@wsj.com)


Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; Dow Jones Newswires; paul.larkins@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-02-24 1219ET