FTSE 100 Closed Up 0.06% Despite Oil Stock Woes

The FTSE 100 closed up 0.06% despite losses for BP and Shell after Saudi Arabia unveiled price cuts, prompting a fall in oil prices. "Saudi Arabia's move to reduce the official selling price for oil sends worrying signals for the crude market, but stocks will be grateful for any sign that inflation will keep abating," IG analyst Chris Beauchamp said in a note. Melrose industrial led the gainers, up 4.3%, followed by B&M European Value Retail, and Rolls-Royce, up 3.2% and 2.9% respectively. Shell, BP and Endeavour Mining were the session's biggest fallers, down 3.1%, 2.6% and 2.35% respectively.

1400 GMT - Data pointing to a relatively resilient U.K. economy, including better-than-expected purchasing managers' surveys, have helped the pound to outperform recently, says Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at global financial services firm Ebury, in a note. EUR/GBP fell to a two-and-a-half week low of 0.8598 on Friday, according to FactSet, and Ryan notes that sterling was the only G10 currency which managed to match the dollar's rise last week. The pound has been lifted by resilience in consumer demand, evidenced in recent economic activity data, and the Bank of England's relative hawkishness, he says. Ebury expects Friday's U.K. November GDP data will suggest the economy avoided a technical recession. EUR/GBP edges up 0.1% to 0.8613. GBP/USD is steady at 1.2715. ([e-mail])

COMPANIES NEWS:

Shell Flags Earnings Hit of Up to $4.5 Billion From Impairments

Shell said its fourth-quarter earnings took a hit of between $2.5 billion and $4.5 billion in impairments that were offset by significantly higher gas trading, while its overall production volumes are on track to meet targets.

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Plus500 Says 2023 Earnings Beat Views

Plus500 said its earnings for 2023 beat expectations and that it is well positioned for the current year.

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Huddled Revenue Rises on Discount Dragon Outperformance

Huddled Group said that revenue for last year rose on the back of a better-than-expected performance of its recent acquisition Discount Dragon.

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Home REIT Collects 12% of December Rent; Investment Manager Making Progress

Home REIT said it collected 12% of the rent invoiced for the month of December, after investment manager AEW UK Investment Management made further progress obtaining control over its assets from non-performing tenants.

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Guild eSports Appoints Paul Kingsley as CFO

Guild eSports said it has appointed Paul Kingsley as chief financial officer with immediate effect, replacing Clare Jarvis.

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CMC Markets Lifts Income Guidance

CMC Markets raised its income expectations for fiscal 2024 on the back of a strong third quarter on improved market conditions.

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CMO Group's Earnings to Miss Guidance on Lower Order Values

CMO Group said it expects earnings to miss guidance, following lower than normal average order values in the latter half of the year.

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Argo Blockchain Raises GBP7.8 Mln Via Discounted Share Placing

Argo Blockchain said it has raised 7.8 million pounds ($9.9 million) through a discounted shared placing, and that proceeds will be used for working capital purposes.

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Adnoc Buys 10.1% Stake in U.K. Carbon-Capture and Storage Company Storegga

Abu-Dhabi National Oil Company has bought a 10.1% stake in Storegga, a U.K.-based carbon-capture and storage firm.

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LivaNova to Wind Down Advanced Circulatory Support Unit

LivaNova is winding down its advanced circulatory support business unit to refocus its efforts toward its main divisions.

MARKET TALK:

Melrose Industries Looks Set to Fly Higher in 2024, Says JPMorgan

1350 GMT - Melrose Industries looks set to keep coming up with good news in 2024, JPMorgan says. Given the momentum in the aerospace company's business in 2023, Melrose looks likely at least to meet the top end of 2023 guidance and raise 2024 guidance above consensus expectations at 2023 full-year results later this year, JPM says. "Melrose remains a key pick for us in 2024; an aerospace pure-play with a credible margin story, further upside to forecasts and a sizeable buy-back supporting the shares," JPM analyst Andrew Wilson says in a note, reiterating the brokerage's overweight rating and 620 pence price target. Melrose shares top the FTSE 100 risers, up 4% at 579p. ([e-mail])

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Senior PLC Shares Fall on Boeing 737 MAX Emergency Landing Probe

1259 GMT - Shares in Senior PLC tumble, leading the FTSE 250 fallers, as Boeing stock was affected by the news stemming from the incident which forced an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 to make an emergency landing on Friday. The U.K. engineering company--which supplies components to the aircraft maker--had said in its November update that sales at its Aerospace division were expected to see good year-on-year growth as it continued "to expect Aerospace performance to improve in 2024 and beyond as supply chain challenges dissipate and production rates increase." Senior shares are down 5.3% at 166.60 pence. ([e-mail])

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Nike, JD Sports Results Could Weigh on Adidas, Puma

1214 GMT - Nike and JD Sports' results could have a negative read-across for Adidas and Puma, RBC Capital Markets analyst Piral Dadhania says in a research note. "We previously viewed the 2024 sporting-goods setup as attractive owing to accelerating revenue growth intra-quarter and gross margin recovery," the analyst says. However, Nike and JD Sports' results have highlighted a less favorable demand environment. Puma and Adidas might flag softer first-half revenue expectations and improvement into the next six months on an easier comparison base, the analyst says. For 2024, both Adidas and Puma could forecast a high-single-digit revenue increase, but the latter might also anticipate EBIT between EUR700 million and EUR800 million, which could disappoint consensus expectations by 5%, he says. ([e-mail])

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Drax Shares Rise on Carbon-Capture Decision Report

1155 GMT - Drax's shares are trading higher after a media report that the U.K. would approve the power-generation company's net-zero carbon-capture plan this week. According to the report by U.K. newspaper the Telegraph, the government is set to agree to the multibillion-pound plan and will launch a consultation to extend its current subsidies beyond 2027. However, Citi analysts think Drax isn't likely to get the approval yet as selection processes by the government are planned for autumn this year. "While we cannot rule out a government remuneration approval for Drax's bioenergy with carbon capture and storage units, we would be very surprised of such decision," the analysts say. Shares are up 6.9% at 523.60 pence. ([e-mail])

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires;

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-08-24 1238ET