The FTSE 100 closed Thursday up 1.95% to reach its highest levels in six weeks, propelled by rallying commodity prices, IG Group says. Oil and natural-gas prices are enjoying a solid afternoon, and Shell and BP have added more than 20 points to the index, with Rio Tinto and Glencore following close behind, IG Group chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp says in a research note. "Optimism around economic growth prospects for Asia has meant that Asia-focused banks HSBC and Standard Chartered have led the banking sector higher too, resulting in the best day for the FTSE 100 since mid-July," Beauchamp says.


COMPANIES NEWS:

IG Group 1Q Revenue Rose Slightly

IG Group Holdings said its revenue edged up slightly over the first quarter of fiscal 2024 as softer performance for over-the-counter derivatives was offset by growth in exchange traded derivatives and stock trading, and said it is confident in achieving its mid-term targets.

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M&C Saatchi Swung to 1H Pretax Loss on Higher Costs, Lower Revenue

M&C Saatchi has reported a swing to first-half pretax loss after booking higher charges and on lower revenue, as guided for in June.

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THG Backs 2023 Views Despite Costs Widening Loss in First Half

THG backed its 2023 adjusted Ebitda guidance despite reporting a widened pretax loss for the first half on the back of increased costs.

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Capricorn Energy Pretax Loss Narrowed; Sees Full-Year Production at Low-End of Guidance

Capricorn Energy said it expects full-year production to be in the lower end of its guided range, as its pretax loss narrowed in the first half of the year, and that it declared a special dividend.

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Trainline Revenue Rises on Higher Ticket Sales; Launches Buyback of Up to GBP50 Mln

Trainline said revenue rose for the first half of fiscal 2024, driven by a 23% rise in net ticket sales, and that it is launching a share buyback program of up to 50 million pounds ($62.4 million) over the next 12 months.

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Kier Group FY 2023 Profit Soared; Set to Return to Dividend List

Kier Group reported a significant increase in pretax profit for fiscal 2023 and said that it will resume its dividend payout in the next fiscal year.

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Grafton Group to Buy Ireland's Rooneys Homevalue for Undisclosed Sum

Grafton Group is buying Rooneys Homevalue, a building materials and DIY products business in Ireland, for an undisclosed sum, it said Thursday.

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Gemfields Group Revenue, Profit Falls Despite Gemstone Demand

Gemfields Group said it expects to report that profit and revenue fell in the first half of the year, but sees robust demand for gemstones.

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Brooks Macdonald Sees Outflows in 1Q After Uninterrupted Inflows in FY 2023

Brooks Macdonald Group might deliver on its mid-term net flow ambition later than expected as short-term headwinds in the first quarter are likely to result in outflows, potentially breaking its streak of inflows over fiscal 2023.

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M.J. Gleeson Pretax Profit, Revenue Fell on Lower Home Sales

M.J. Gleeson said Thursday pretax profit for fiscal 2023 fell as revenue decreased on lower home sales, and that although it remained cautious over the continuing risks in the wider economy it viewed the current year with confidence.

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Victoria FY 2023 Loss Widened on Higher Costs; Sees Earnings Improvement Ahead

Victoria PLC said that pretax loss for fiscal 2023 sharply widened on the back of higher costs, and said that it expects earnings to improve after the completion of major integration projects.

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Deepverge Gets Interest for Modern Water, Labskin Businesses

Deepverge has received several approaches to buy either parts of, or all of, its Modern Water and Labskin business units, it said Thursday.

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LoopUp Sees 2023 Performance in Line With Views as 1H Pretax Loss Narrowed

LoopUp Group is confident it will broadly meet market expectations for 2023 as traction in its cloud telephony business offsets the progressive structural decline in its meetings and events division, the company said as it reported a narrower pretax loss for the first half of the year.

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Glenveagh Properties's Pretax Profit Dropped on Lower Urban Revenue, Higher Costs

Glenveagh Properties said its pretax profit slid as expected in the first half of the year, primarily dragged by lower urban revenues and higher financial costs, and backed its full-year guidance.

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Portmeirion Swung to Pretax Loss as Revenue Fell on US Customer Caution

Portmeirion Group said Thursday that it swung to a first-half pretax loss as revenue fell due to increased caution from U.S. customers when ordering and destocking by retailer customers, and that it had a good start to the second half.

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Hipgnosis Songs Fund to Sell Catalogues to Fund Buybacks, Cut Debt

Hipgnosis Songs Fund is planning to sell 29 catalogues and a portfolio of non-core songs for $465 million to Hipgnosis Songs Capital to fund a share buyback program and reduce debt, as part of a plan to boost its share price.

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Focusrite Sees Earnings Within Views, But Lower Revenue on Tough Asia Markets

Focusrite said it expects earnings for fiscal 2023 to be within market views, though revenue is expected to fall.

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Churchill China 1H Pretax Profit, Revenue Rose on Price Increases

Churchill China said that first-half pretax profit rose as revenue increased mostly due to the implementation of higher prices, and that despite some market headwinds it was in a good position to meet the board's profit expectations for the year.

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Gresham House Sees Growth Continuing Into 2H

Gresham House posted a rise in assets under management for the first half of 2023, leading to higher income and pretax profit, and said it sees continued growth into the second half.

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John Lewis Partnership Pretax Loss Narrowed, Sees FY 2024 Improving Performance

John Lewis Partnership reported a narrowed pretax loss for the first half of fiscal 2024 as it managed to keep costs under control, and said that it expects full-year performance to improve.

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Spire Healthcare Backs 2023 Views After 1H Profit Jumped on Strong Demand

Spire Healthcare said that first-half pretax profit soared as revenue improved driven by continued robust demand and that it is confident to achieve its full-year targets.

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Tungsten West Shares Tumble On Funding Woes

Shares in Tungsten West dropped as much as 53% after the company said it might not be able to meet liabilities and raise the necessary funds to complete its Hemerdon mine project.

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Tremor International Seeks Israel Court Approval for $20 Mln Buyback

Tremor International intends to file a motion with the Israeli court to ask for approval to buy back $20 million of its shares.

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Keystone Law Sees FY 2024 Comfortably Beating Views After 1H Pretax Profit Rose

Keystone Law Group expects its results for fiscal 2024 to come in comfortably ahead of market views as it posted a rise in pretax profit for the first half of the year on strong client demand.

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Checkit Shares Rise After Company Reports Narrowed 1H Loss, Sees FY 2024 Ahead of Views

Checkit PLC shares rose after the company said that it is confident to deliver fiscal 2024 performance ahead of market expectations and reported a narrowed pretax loss for the first half.

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Critical Mineral Resources Shares Soar on Major Shareholder's Stake Increase

Shares in Critical Mineral Resources surged 88% after the company said Jason Cropper, a major shareholder, increased his stake to 23.84% from 15.45%.

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Critical Mineral Resources Shares Soar on Major Shareholder's Stake Increase

Shares in Critical Mineral Resources surged 88% after the company said Jason Cropper, a major shareholder, increased his stake to 23.84% from 15.45%.

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UniVision Engineering Receives Windup Petition Over E-Star Debt

UniVision Engineering said it has received a petition from one of its subcontractors to wind up the company in relation to outstanding debts of around 194,473 pounds ($242,877) in the High Court in Hong Kong.

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Kropz Secures Loan Facility to Fund Elandsfontein Operations

Kropz said that its subsidiary Kropz Elandsfontein has further extended a loan facility of 250 million South African rand ($13.3 million) to meet immediate and near-term funding requirements at the Elandsfontein project in South Africa.


MARKET TALK:

Ipsos Warning Could Cloud European Ad Groups

1338 GMT - Ipsos's cut to its revenue-growth outlook is likely to be a drag on sentiment on European advertising groups such as Publicis Group and WPP, though parallels might be limited, Citi analysts Thomas Singlehurst and Praveen Shetty say in a research note. "Although this is unhelpful for sentiment for our coverage of the larger agency groups--in particular WPP, Publicis and [S4 Capital]--it is not clear that there is any direct read-across," Citi says. Market-research company Ipsos said the cut was triggered by continued challenges in the technology industry in North America and a weaker-than-expected recovery in China, which echoes what some ad and marketing-services groups said at their first-half results, Citi says. Publicis shares fall 1.2%. (adria.calatayud@dowjones.com)

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Energean's Backed Mid-Term View Reassures Given Recent Operational Issues

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09-14-23 1204ET