London Stocks Fall as Investors Turn Cautious; Oil Stocks Rise

London Stocks Fall as Investors Turn Cautious; Oil Stocks Rise

The FTSE 100 falls 0.3% to 7057.57 as investors get nervous about the prospects of tighter monetary policy, rising bond yields and continued uncertainty over whether troubled Chinese developer Evergrande will make a key interest payment. Property stocks are among the biggest fallers, while financials also lose ground. Oil-linked stocks rise, however, boosted by higher crude oil prices, while AstraZeneca rises 2.5% after the pharma major reported positive results in its Propel Phase 3 trial for treating prostate cancer. Severn Trent falls 1% after a trading update. "Next week, focus will pivot to the German election Monday and the U.S. stimulus and debt ceiling debates," says Steen Jakobsen, chief investment officer at Saxo Bank.

 
Companies News: 

Gresham Technologies Signs A$21 Mln Contract Extensions

Gresham Technologies PLC said Friday that it has signed new contracts with its largest customer worth more than 21 million Australian dollars ($15.3 million) for the year to Sept. 30, 2022.

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Fusion Antibodies Says Revenue Growth Is Consistent With Previous Financial Period

Fusion Antibodies PLC said on Friday that revenue growth in the financial period ending March 31, 2022, has been consistent when compared to the previous financial period and in line with the board's expectations.

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Kingswood 1H Pretax Loss Nearly Halved on Revenue Jump, Lower Costs

Kingswood Holdings Ltd. on Friday reported a nearly halved pretax loss for the first half of 2021 on a surge in revenue and reduced costs, noting a stronger performance in the U.K. and the U.S.

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Tortilla Mexican Grill to Float on London's AIM

Tortilla Mexican Grill PLC said Friday that it plans to float on London's junior AIM, with trading expected to start on Oct. 8.

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Shell Completes Sale of Egyptian Assets to Cairn, Cheiron

Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Friday that it has completed the sale of its Western Desert assets onshore Egypt to Cairn Energy PLC and Cheiron Petroleum Corporation for up to $926 million.

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Judges Scientific 1H Pretax Profit Rose; Expects Full Year to Beat Market Views

Judges Scientific PLC on Friday posted a rise in first-half pretax profit on the back of higher revenue, and said it expects to perform ahead of consensus expectations for the full year.

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Amte Power Appoints James Hobson as its New Finance Chief

Amte Power PLC said Friday that it has appointed James Hobson as chief financial officer designate, replacing Adam Westcott.

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Chaarat Gold Appoints Mike Fraser as CEO

Chaarat Gold Holdings Ltd. said Friday that it has appointed Mike Fraser as chief executive officer.

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Iofina 1H Pretax Profit, Revenue Rose

Iofina PLC said Friday that pretax profit rose in the first half of the year on increased revenue, but that iodine production in the period was hurt by extreme winter weather and lower brine supply from its oil-and-gas partners.

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Peel Hunt to Raise GBP112 Mln via Share Placing

Peel Hunt Ltd. said Friday that it expects to raise 112 million pounds ($153.7 million) via an oversubscribed share placing that attracted strong support from high quality institutional and retail investors.

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Novatek Director Mark Gyetvay Arrested in US on Tax Charges

Novatek's director and former chief financial officer Mark Gyetvay has been arrested in the U.S. accused of hiding money in offshore accounts to avoid taxes, the Department of Justice said Thursday.

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Tintra Shares Rise on Conversion of Loan Stock Announcement

Shares in Tintra PLC rose on Friday after the company said that Tintra Acquisitions Ltd. issued a conversion notice in relation to 50,000 pounds ($68,595) of its convertible loan stock on Thursday.

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Nmcn Secures Equity Extensions for Refinancing, Proposes Listing Change

Nmcn PLC said Friday that it has secured extensions to its equity subscription and to an existing uncommitted overdraft as it seeks to refinance and proposed a change of listing.

 
Market Talk: 

Higher Sterling Hedging Costs Would Make Long-Dated Gilts Unattractive

0925 GMT - Hedging costs for foreign investors in sterling are poised to rise, making long-dated U.K. government debt relatively less attractive, Mizuho says. Traders have brought forward their bets on the timing of the first rate increase after the Bank of England signaled concerns about rising inflation, which is set to lift the cost of hedging in sterling. "With the market now pricing in hikes so soon, [the] 3-month SONIA [Sterling Overnight Index Average swap] will start to rise, making FX hedging costs for foreign investors in GBP more expensive," they say, adding that long-end gilts will therefore look very unattractive compared to Treasuries.

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Oersted Could Get Around GBP3 Bln for 50% of Hornsea II Project, RBC Estimates

0909 GMT - The price for a 50% stake in Oersted's Hornsea II offshore wind project would be just under GBP3 billion, or GBP4 million per megawatt, RBC estimates. This compares with GBP6 million per megawatt achieved on the farmdown of Hornsea I, which had higher contracted sales prices, the bank says. More recently, the price for the farm-down of Oersted's Borssele I and II was EUR3.7 million per megawatt, RBC says. Norges Bank Investment Management and Greencoat Capital, the adviser to Greencoat UK Wind, have reportedly placed bids for the 50% of the 1.4-gigawatt Hornsea II project, which is expected to come online in mid-2022, RBC says.

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AstraZeneca's Prostate-Cancer Trial Seen Bringing Sales Momentum

0857 GMT - AstraZeneca's positive phase three Propel trial results for its Lynparza in the treatment of first-line prostate cancer suggest a significant commercial opportunity beyond current consensus, Jefferies says. "In the U.S., around 30,000 and 50,000 metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients are eligible for first-line therapy per year, suggesting a potential commercial opportunity of $3 billion-$5 billion assuming a 18 months treatment duration," Jefferies notes. Shares are up 2.2% at 8857.00 pence.

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Mitie Group's Raised Full-Year Guidance Is Seen Lifting Market Estimates

0829 GMT - Mitie Group's improved guidance for operating pretax profit in fiscal 2022 will likely drive up the consensus estimate for earnings per share in the year by 18% to 28%, Jefferies says after the U.K. outsourcing group issued a positive trading update. Mitie's guidance is well ahead of the market consensus of GBP124 million and Jefferies's estimate of GBP125 million, the bank says. Jefferies has a buy rating on the stock and a target price of 99.00 pence. Shares are up 2.1% at 72.40 pence.

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Iofina's 1H Results Point to Recovery in Iodine Market

0804 GMT - Iodine producer Iofina delivered record 1H results despite weather and brine supply-related production outages during the period, showing that the recovery in the iodine market is picking up pace, finnCap says. The U.S. brokerage says iodine spot prices are now above its long-term forecast driven by higher demand, and that the iodine market is expected to continue improving. "Alongside a strengthened balance sheet [this] provides management with plenty of firepower to pursue the next leg of its progressive growth strategy," the brokerage says. finnCap has a 25 pence target price. Shares are flat at 16 pence.

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; Write to Sarka Halas at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

09-24-21 0546ET