The FTSE 100 closed Thursday down 0.3% to 7694 points following three straight days in positive terrain, but in line with European peers, mainly dragged by oil-exposed heavyweights. Luxury retailer Burberry was the blue-chip index's worst performer, with shares down 4.2% on the back of worse-than-expected U.K. retail sales, IG Senior Market Analyst Axel Rudolph said in a note. Ocado shares slipped 4.0%, followed by Airtel Africa, down 1.6%. Vodafone shares closed up 2.25%, leading the index after reports that Swisscom is considering a bid for its Italian business.

COMPANIES NEWS:

Novacyt's Completion of Taiwan Laboratory Sale Delayed

Novacyt said that completion of the sale of its Taiwan laboratory will take longer than anticipated and won't be completed before the end of 2023 as previously announced.

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Swisscom Is Considering Bid for Vodafone Italy, Bloomberg Reports

--Swisscom is considering a bid for Vodafone Group's Italian business, which could potentially rival a 10.45 billion-euro ($11.43 billion) proposal made by Iliad Group, Bloomberg reports, citing unnamed sources.

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SRT Marine Systems to Raise Up to GBP10.5 Mln to Fund Growth

SRT Marine Systems plans to raise up to 10.5 million pounds ($13.3 million) via a shares subscription, placing and retail offer and will use the money to strengthen its balance sheet and to grow its systems and transceivers businesses.

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TinyBuild Shares Leap on High-Premium Fund Raising Supported by CEO

Shares of tinyBuild rose 80%, marking their best ever one-day percentage rise, after the company announced a $14 million high-premium fund raising supported by Chief Executive Alex Nichiporchik.

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Hipgnosis Songs Fund Operating Pretax Loss Widens on Fall in Revenue, Portfolio Value

Hipgnosis Songs Fund, which owns rights to tracks by Shakira, Blondie, Neil Young and others, said its operating pretax loss for the first half of its fiscal year widened on a fall in its portfolio value and revenue

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Harland & Wolff Scraps Plans to Buy Isles of Scilly Steamship Co.

Harland & Wolff Group Holdings said it won't make a firm offer to buy Isles of Scilly Steamship Co.

MARKET TALK:

Frasers' Matches Acquisition Likely to Be Complementary

1221 GMT - Frasers' stake-building and company-takeover strategy continues with the group's acquisition of online luxury retailer Matches, which could be complementary to its business, Shore Capital analyst Clive Black says in a note. The U.K. sports-fashion retailer's GBP52 million deal represents a highly affordable acquisition given its robust balance sheet, he notes. The analyst also highlights that Matches near-term objective is likely to be to reduce losses, and it could also benefit from the earnings dilution and synergies with the wider Frasers assortment. "The stake building remains a more questionable exercise but, at the end of the day, Frasers is an entrepreneurial growth company that is more likely to sequentially grow than not," Black adds. Shares are down 0.8% at 930. pence. (michael.susin@wsj.com)

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European Stocks Fall in Thin Pre-Holiday Trade

1213 GMT - The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index falls 0.6% to 475.33, following on from a sharp drop in U.S. stocks late on Wednesday as investors question whether the recent sharp rise in equities is justified. Worries about risks to the economy are also creeping in. Thin trading ahead of the year-end holidays is causing greater volatility, however, and analysts say it is difficult to draw any firm conclusions from current moves. "It looks like investors said too far too fast and therefore took some chips off the table," Danske Bank analysts say in a note. "We have seen these dynamics before and typically don't recommend chasing sudden shifts." Germany's DAX index falls 0.6% while France's CAC 40 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 lose 0.5% each. (jessica.fleetham@wsj.com)


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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

12-21-23 1210ET