The FTSE 100 closed up 0.795% on Wednesday, as European markets bounced back following a climdown by the Italian government on the subject of windfall taxes, IG Group says. On Tuesday, Rome put the wind up investors with their bank tax plans, but with more detail emerging a calmer atmosphere is prevailing, IG Group Chief Market Analyst Chris Beauchamp says in a market comment. The risk of a broader Europe-wide move on banks remains, but the hit could be much less severe than feared 24 hours ago, Beauchamp says. "The news allowed stocks to ride out signs of deflation in China, adding to the recent pile of bad news from that [country's] economy," Beauchamp says.


NEWS:

Hikma Appoints Bill Larkins as President of Injectables Business

Hikma has appointed Bill Larkins as president of its injectables business, effective Sept. 1.

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Bellway Sees Weaker Performance Ahead After Housing Revenue Fell in Line With Views

Bellway has warned of a decrease in home completions in the fiscal year ahead after housing revenue fell in line with guidance in fiscal 2023.

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TP ICAP Pretax Profit Rose, Launches GBP30 Mln Share Buyback

TP ICAP Group launched a share buyback program of up to 30 million pounds ($38.2 million) and said it is on track to meet full-year targets after first-half pretax profit rose against strong comparatives.

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4imprint Pretax Profit, Revenue Rose as Customer Demand Reached Record Levels

4imprint Group said pretax profit rose for the first half as revenue grew on customer demand reaching record levels, and backed its guidance for the year.

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Polymetal International Backs Production Guidance on Russian Operations Boost

Polymetal International reported a rise in revenue for the second quarter and backed full-year production guidance despite current disruptions to concentrate shipments.

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Codex Acquisitions Shares Leap as Trading Resumes

Shares of Codex Acquisitions rose 43% in early trade after the company returned from suspension having posted its 2022 annual report.

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Secure Trust Bank Sees Better Profitability in 2H After Charge Hits Pretax Profit

Secure Trust Bank expects profitability improvements in the second half of 2023 after it posted a fall in first-half pretax profit due to an impairment charge, despite higher lending and deposits.

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D4t4 Solutions Gets Contract That Was Delayed From FY 2023

D4t4 Solutions has been awarded a contract with an existing banking customer, most of which will be delivered in the first half of fiscal 2024.

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RM PLC Shares Tumble After Going-Concern Warning

Shares in RM PLC fell after the company said there was material uncertainty about its ability to continue as a going concern until it reaches an agreement with banks, and that it expects to breach its Ebitda banking covenant from the third quarter of fiscal 2023.

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Inspired PLC Confident of Meeting Forecasts on Continued Momentum

Inspired PLC said momentum from the first quarter has continued into the second quarter and that it is confident to meet market forecasts for the full year.

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Bank of Cyprus Pretax Profit Jumped on Interest Rates Boost

Bank of Cyprus Holdings is on track to meet its targets for the year after the company reported a significant rise in first-half pretax profit on higher income from interest rates.

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CLS Holdings Swung to Pretax Loss on Higher Revaluation Losses

CLS Holdings swung to a pretax loss for the first half after booking higher revaluation losses and costs, and said it expects the economic backdrop for the property market to remain challenging until interest rates peak.

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PCI-PAL Sees Higher Full-Year Revenue on Contract Wins

PCI-PAL expects its fiscal 2023 results to be aligned with its expectations as new contracts in its second half boosted its sales.

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Star Energy Backs 2023 Production Targets After 1H Increase

Star Energy backed its production guidance for the year following a first-half increase.

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Hargreaves Services Pretax Profit Fell on Higher Costs

Hargreaves Services pretax profit for fiscal 2023 fell on higher costs but the outlook for its trading activities is strong, the company said Wednesday.

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KEFI Gold & Copper Outlines Development Plans for Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia Projects

KEFI Gold & Copper expects aggregate mineral resources from projects under development at its Ethiopian and Saudi Arabia sites to amount 4.7 million ounces of gold-equivalent, with aggregate production of 326,000 ounces of gold-equivalent at the three sites.

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Braemar Says Auditor's Pay Resolution Passed With Low Votes

Braemar said that the resolution seeking authority to determine the auditor's remuneration received a low vote but was still passed.

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Gfinity Shares Drop After Conditionally Raising GBP450,000, Board Shuffle

Gfinity shares fell after the group said that it has conditionally raised 450,000 pounds ($573,750) through a discounted subscription and that proceeds will be used for immediate working capital.


MARKET TALK:

European Stocks Rise; US Investors Eye Modest Gains

1226 GMT - European stocks rise ahead of an expected slightly higher U.S. open, though Asia shares traded mixed. The Stoxx Europe 600 and FTSE 100 advance 0.8% and the DAX and CAC 40 gain about 1%, with tech, banking and oil stocks among the biggest risers. Brent crude rallies 0.8% to $86.84 a barrel. IG futures data show the Dow opening at 35334, versus Tuesday's close of 35314. Markets in Australia, Hong Kong and South Korea rose, though stocks in mainland China and Japan fell. "The focus turns to U.S. CPI, published tomorrow, but with recent Fed comments highlighting policy will remain unchanged for an extended period--barring a rapid deterioration--it will take a big surprise to shift markets," IG analysts write. (philip.waller@wsj.com)

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Flutter Looks Cheap and its US Business Could Lead to Upgrade

1213 GMT - Flutter has reported a strong first half, beating Davy Research's expectations, with the U.S. market outperforming again and good profitability achieved--and the shares look attractively priced, analysts say. The gambling and betting group's U.S. business generated almost 35% more revenue than the second biggest operator and more than double the third, impressive in a sector where scale is key, Davy analyst Paul Ruddy says in a research note. "We continue to believe that the group is in the early stages of a U.S. driven upgrade cycle" the Irish research firm says, adding that growth prospects also remain attractive in its businesses outside the U.S. Davy retains its outperform rating and 18,600 pence price target. Shares are down 3.3% at 14,415 pence. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)

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Bellway's Shares Look Cheaply Priced Despite Tougher Backdrop

1127 GMT - Bellway's tougher business backdrop outlined in its fiscal 2023 update should come as no surprise and guidance for fiscal 2024 will only materialize at the final results in October, Peel Hunt says. The house builder still has some further downside risk to estimates, but Peel Hunt believes this is already reflected in the shares, which trade at around a 35% discount to total net asset value, Peel Hunt analysts Sam Cullen and Clyde Lewis say in a research note. "With the risk of asset write-downs low, in our view, we see [the share price] discount as too steep," the brokerage says. Peel Hunt retains its buy rating and 2,640 pence price target. Shares are down 2.0% at 2,172.0 pence. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)


Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires;


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-09-23 1201ET