The FTSE 100 closed up 0.83% on Monday, as momentum from a record Friday finish in the U.S. and a good Asia showing persisted into the new week. Fears of a global supply crunch seem to have ebbed, and the strong performance of profit margins this earnings season has provided the key fundamental backdrop to the rally in equities over the past few weeks, IG Group's chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp says. Lots of focus on central bank meetings this week is a sign investors are struggling to find headlines to worry about, and even a rate hike from the Bank of England shouldn't excite, with a rate increase already firmly priced into the pound, Mr. Beauchamp says. 


 
Companies News:

MGC Pharmaceuticals Gets Israel Government's Approval for Covid-19 Treatment Study

MGC Pharmaceuticals Ltd. said Monday that the Israeli Ministry of Health has approved the dosing study for Cimetra, its proprietary treatment for the effects of Covid-19.

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Lekoil Nigeria Asks Lekoil to Lift Trading Suspension

Lekoil Nigeria Ltd. said Monday that it has requested urgent clarification on the steps being taken by the board of Lekoil Ltd. regarding the company's trading suspension.

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Agriterra Warns on Ability to Continue; FY 2021 Pretax Loss Narrowed

Agriterra Ltd. on Monday warned that there is some uncertainty over the company's ability to continue operating over the next year as it reported a narrowed pretax loss for fiscal 2021 due to lower costs.

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SIG Offers to Conduct Roadshows for EUR300 Mln Secured Notes Due 2026

SIG PLC said Monday that it will carry out roadshows in connection with a proposed 300 million euros ($346.9 million) offering to support its growth ambitions into the medium term.

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Kazatomprom 3Q Uranium Production Rose, Lowers 2021 Production Guidance

NAC Kazatomprom JSC said Monday that its uranium production and realized prices rose in the third quarter from a year earlier, and lowered its production guidance for the year.

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ProCook Group Prices IPO at 137P-185P; Trading to Start Nov

ProCook Group Ltd. on Monday priced its initial public offering at 137 pence to 185 pence a share, implying a market capitalization of up to 200 million pounds ($273.8 million) when trading starts this month.

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Capital & Regional Collects Most of Nine-Month Rent, Sees Strong Leasing Activity

Capital & Regional PLC said Monday that it has received most of its rent due for the first nine months of the year, and that it is experiencing strong leasing activity momentum.

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Water Intelligence Completes Acquisition of Wat-Er-Save Services

Water Intelligence PLC said Monday that it has completed the acquisition of leak detection provider Wat-er-save Services Ltd., a deal that expands its footprint in the U.K.

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British Airways Secures $1.37 Bln Loan

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA said on Monday that British Airways agreed to a 1.0 billion-pound ($1.37 billion) five-year loan with UK Export Finance [UKEF] and a syndicate of banks.

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RedX Names Jane Griffiths as Incoming Nonexecutive Chair

RedX Pharma PLC said Monday that it has appointed Jane Griffiths as incoming nonexecutive chair, effective from Dec. 1.

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Devolver Digital to Raise $261.3 Million in London IPO

Devolver Digital, Inc. said Monday that it will raise around 190.9 million pounds ($261.3 million) in its planned initial public offering on London's junior AIM early this month.

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Norman Broadbent Names Sean Buchan as Managing Director

Norman Broadbent PLC said Monday that it has appointed Sean Buchan as managing director of the group.

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McKesson to Sell UK Businesses to Aurelius

McKesson Corp. said it would sell its U.K. businesses to asset management group Aurelius.

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Barclays CEO Steps Down Amid Pressure Over Epstein Ties

Jes Staley stepped down as chief executive of Barclays PLC under pressure from regulators about how he characterized his relationship with the convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein.

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Barclays's New CEO Faces Old Challenges -- Heard on the Street

The circumstances surrounding Jes Staley's departure from Barclays are certainly not the ones he or his employer would have chosen, but he has finished the job he was hired to do. 


 
Market Talk:

'We Have the Bulk of the Technologies' to Reach Net-Zero, BP Sustainability Executive Says

1135 GMT - The "bulk of the technologies" are already available to get to net-zero emissions, but there is still uncertainty on how to get there and more investment in emerging areas such as green hydrogen is needed, says Giulia Chierchia, BP's executive vice president of strategy and sustainability, speaking at a McKinsey event during the United Nations' climate conference in Glasgow. "We're navigating through monumental uncertainty," she says. BP aims to grow its low-carbon investments to some $5 billion in 2030, up from around $500 million in 2019, she says. "We don't know how this will play out. There are multiple outcomes," she adds.

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Ryanair CEO Says Boeing Was 'Delusionary' for Trying to Impose Price Increase

1131 GMT - Ryanair's Chief Executive Michael O'Leary has said that Boeing was "delusionary" for trying to impose a significant, substantial double-digit price increase during its recent 737 MAX 10 aircraft negotiations with the budget airline and that the plane maker walked away from the discussions. O'Leary said Ryanair was Boeing's only significant customer in Europe after Norwegian Air Shuttle cancelled almost all their aircraft orders, Jet2 switched to Airbus, and IAG--which had signed an MOU for MAX aircraft--invited Airbus to tender. The CEO said Boeing was losing customers all over the place and that their approach was "delusionary" as they were asking for a price increase so as to recover its production at a time when aircraft prices should be falling, not rising. Ryanair shares are up 3% at EUR17.17.

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Barclays CEO Exit, Transition Is Limiting Hit to Shares

1044 GMT - Barclays's transition to C.S. Venkatakrishnan from current CEO Jes Staley seems to be limiting the damage to the bank's share price, AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould says. However, the FTSE 100 listed lender's shareholders must be frustrated and the board disappointed over news of Staley's departure, Mould says. "The bank has just come through the final payment protection insurance compensation payments in 2019, the conclusions of the Qatar fraud trial case in 2020 and seen off a fierce challenge to its strategy from an activist investor in 2021, only for Chief Executive Jes Staley to now step down so he can defend his reputation," Mould says. Shares are down 2.1% at 197.94 pence.

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Supply Chain Issues Hit UK Manufacturing Output in October

1033 GMT - U.K. manufacturing output rose at the slowest pace for eight months in October due to supply chain delays and shortages of staff and raw materials, according to the IHS Markit/CIPS purchasing managers' survey. "This modest expansion was buoyed up by domestic demand as new order levels improved," CIPS director Duncan Brock says. "However, pipelines of export work slipped back as customers in the EU and beyond became tired of waiting for their undelivered goods and resorted to cancellations." With Brexit contributing to the slowdown, the issue is logistics rather than supply as goods and materials are being produced, he says.

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UK Manufacturing Sector Expanded in October But Supply-Chain Strains Hit Output

0948 GMT - The latest purchasing managers survey points to a slight acceleration of growth for the U.K.'s manufacturing sector, but output growth was constrained by severe supply-chain disruptions. The manufacturing PMI compiled by IHS Markit stood at 57.8 in October, up from 57.1 in September and well above the 50.0 threshold that separates expansion from contraction. The PMI was boosted by improved growth in new orders and employment, but manufacturing production rose marginally, the report says. "Strained global supply chains are disrupting production schedules, while staff shortages and declining intakes of new export work are also stymieing the upturn," IHS Markit's director Rob Dobson said. Input price inflation accelerated and output charges rose to the greatest extent on record, the report says.

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RBC Recommends Selling GBP/USD Ahead of BOE, Fed Meetings, Targets 1.3410

0939 GMT - RBC Capital Markets recommends investors take a short position in GBP/USD before decisions by the Bank of England on Thursday and the Federal Reserve on Wednesday; targeting a fall to 1.3410, with a stop at 1.3800. The BOE will more likely raise interest rates in December rather than November, RBC estimates, which may result in a "kneejerk negative" reaction in sterling. Short-dated bond yields rose everywhere in October, but the U.S. lagged and the U.K. was amongst the leaders, and RBC sees a risk of "a partial reversal of these relative moves." The Fed is expected to announce tapering and is "likely to stress that the policy is flexible in both directions," it says. RBC opened this trade at 1.3674. GBP/USD falls 0.2% to 1.3661.

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; Write to Sarka Halas at sarka.halas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-01-21 1301ET