FTSE 100 Rises as US Jobs Data Eyed
0805 GMT - The FTSE 100 rises 0.3% to 7541 points as investors look ahead to the closely-watched U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for March at 1230 GMT. Investors will likely assess if a potentially buoyant U.S. labor market reading "might make the Federal Reserve even more inclined to follow an aggressive path on hiking interest rates," Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Susannah Streeter says in a note. Housebuilders including Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon rise after Thursday's strong Nationwide U.K. house prices data. Energy stocks BP and Shell fall as oil prices drop after the U.S. announced a record release from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to ease prices. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
Companies News:
CareTech Holdings Gets Improved $1 Bln Bid Approach From Sheikh Holdings Consortium
CareTech Holdings PLC said Friday that it has received a nonbinding offer valuing the company at around 821.7 million pounds ($1.08 billion) from a consortium led by Sheikh Holdings Group (Investments) Ltd.
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Mitie Group Buys P2ML for GBP2.1 Mln to Expand Telecoms Offering
Mitie Group PLC said Friday that it has bought specialist telecoms tower design company P2ML for 2.1 million pounds ($2.8 million) to expand its telecoms acquisition, design and construction capabilities.
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Telecom Plus Disposes of Noncore Businesses as Part of Refocusing
Telecom Plus PLC said Friday that it has agreed to the disposals of UW Home Services Ltd., Glow Green Ltd. and Cofield Ltd. as it refocuses on its core business as a fully integrated supplier of utility services.
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Peel Hunt Unexpectedly Ends FY 2022 Ahead of Revised Market Forecasts
Peel Hunt Ltd. said Friday that it has ended its fiscal year 2022 ahead of revised market expectations and in a strong position thanks to its execution and trading business.
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Renew Holdings Says 1H 2022 Was in Line With Views; Is Confident of 2H Prospects
Renew Holdings PLC said Friday that its performance for the first half of fiscal 2022 is in line with management expectations, and that the board remains confident of the company's prospects in the second half.
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Dunelm Group Appoints Karen Witts as CFO
Dunelm Group PLC said Friday that it has appointed Karen Witts as Chief Financial Officer to replace Laura Carr with effect on June 9.
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Numis Warns of 36% Revenue Drop in 1H Amid Persistent Inflation and Ukraine War
Numis Corp. said Friday that it expects revenue for the first half of fiscal 2022 to fall due to a difficult backdrop on equity markets amid persistent inflation and the war in Ukraine.
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Quiz PLC to Return to Profitability in FY 2022, With Revenue Ahead of Views
Quiz PLC said Friday that it expects to report a return to profit for fiscal 2022 after closing its financial year in a strong position following the strong sales momentum achieved during Christmas.
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Pan African Resources Starts GBP2.6 Mln Share Buyback
Pan African Resources PLC said Friday that it has started the first phase of a share buyback of up to around 2.6 million pounds ($3.4 million).
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Foxtons Group COO Patrick Franco Steps Down; CEO Nicholas Budden Assumes COO Duties
Foxtons Group PLC said Friday that Chief Operations Officer Patrick Franco will step down from the board on April 1, and that Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Budden will assume the COO role's duties.
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Sovereign Metals Trading Halted on ASX Pending Kasiya Resource Update
Sovereign Metals Ltd. said Friday that it has requested that trading in its shares be suspended on the Australian Securities Exchange ahead of update on the mineral resource estimate at the Kasiya project in Malawi.
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TP Group Sells Autonomous Navigation Software to QinetiQ for GBP600,000
TP Group PLC said Friday that it has agreed to sell its Northstar autonomous navigation software to a QinetiQ Group PLC subsidiary for around 600,000 pounds ($788,580) following a strategic review.
Market Talk:
Brent Prices Have Less Upside Potential as U.S. Releases Oil Reserves
0758 GMT - Brent crude prices have less upside potential as the U.S. releases its oil reserves, Goldman Sachs says, now expecting prices to reach $125/bbl in 2H versus its earlier $135/bbl forecast. Front-month Brent is 1.0% lower at $103.70/bbl. Other bearish factors include a likely delay in the ramp-up of Iranian oil exports to 3Q given the slow progress in reaching an agreement as well as a hit to Chinese crude demand due to its lockdowns, although the oil market still remains in an overall deficit, Goldman Sachs says. It also expects OPEC+ to stick with its scheduled oil-production quota increases through 3Q. (yongchang.chin@wsj.com)
Contact: London NewsPlus; paul.larkins@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-01-22 0423ET
