FTSE 100 Ends Flat After Positive News From China

The FTSE 100 index closed Tuesday largely flat, losing just 1.28 points, or 0.02%, helped by mining companies Anglo American and Antofagasta which rose 2.1% and 1.4%, respectively. "Mining companies did a lot of heavy lifting for the index, as leading commodities consumer China took steps to bolster confidence in its currency and economy," AJ Bell head of financial analysis Danni Hewson said in a market comment. Speciality chemicals company Croda International was among the day's biggest fallers, dropping 3.0% after booking a decline in profit and disappointing guidance.

COMPANIES NEWS:

Smith & Nephew Profit Rises on Better-Than-Expected Revenue Growth

Smith & Nephew said pretax profit rose, driven by robust revenue growth, particularly from its sports medicine segment, and an improved trading margin.

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Pennon's Sumisho Osaka Deal to Be Reviewed by Regulator

The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority is looking to see whether Pennon Group's takeover of Sumisho Osaka Gas Water UK will lead to a situation that will prejudice water authority Ofwat's ability to make comparisons between water enterprises.

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Abrdn Pretax Loss Narrows; Beats Estimates On Main Metrics

Abrdn posted better-than-expected results for its main metrics despite market conditions leading to outflows in 2023, which it sees continuing, and said its pretax loss narrowed for the year.

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Dr. Martens New CFO Giles Wilson to Start in May

Dr. Martens said Giles Wilson will join the group as chief financial officer on May 27.

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Croda Pretax Profit Falls on Lower Sales, Expects Key Profit Margin to Decline

Croda International said pretax profit fell after sales were hurt by customers reducing their inventory levels, and that it expects a key profit margin to decline this year.

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McBride Swings to Pretax Profit, Expects Momentum to Continue

McBride swung to a pretax profit for the first half of fiscal 2024 on volume growth and said it is optimistic about the strong market dynamics in the second half.

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Unite Group Pretax Profit Fell Despite Record Occupancy

Unite Group reported a pretax-profit fall after booking higher costs and losses on property valuation despite full occupancy and rental growth delivering a record occupancy during the year.

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Brickability to Miss Market Expectations as Demand Falls

Brickability Group said it expects earnings for fiscal 2024 to miss market expectations as demand for bricks is significantly lower and warned that such conditions are expected to remain longer than initially anticipated.

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Qualcomm's Acquisition of Autotalks Probed by U.K. Regulator

The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority has started an investigation into Qualcomm's planned takeover of Israel-based auto chip maker Autotalks.

MARKET TALK:

Shein's Potential London Listing Could Bring Investor Interest at Some Risk

1257 GMT - Shein's potential listing in London would help fix the LSE's damaged reputation as a listing venue, AJ Bell head of financial analysis Danni Hewson says in a note. The Chinese online fashion heavyweight, which is seeking a Western listing with hopes to be seen as a global business, could bring massive investor interest and also attract other names to list in the U.K., Hewson notes. The choice of London over New York could relate to more relaxed regulation, but is mainly driven by the geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China, Hewson says. Despite being a well-known company, it still faces many headwinds, and a listing could raise questions over its supply chain, as well the ethical and environmental issues, Hewson warns. ([e-mail])

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On the Beach's Ryanair Deal Should Remove Investor Concerns, Lead to Rerating

1239 GMT - On the Beach's Ryanair agreement, whereby it will offer flights on its platform, removes one of the key investor pushbacks since its IPO in 2015 and should lead its shares to immediately rerate, Numis analysts Richard Stuber and Tim Barrett say in note. The deal also crucially draws a line under outstanding litigation, which has been continuing since 2010, costing the company around GBP2 million a year, the analysts say. Furthermore, the company's reliance on the budget airline and access to its seat supply has concerned investors for years, so this agreement removes a key barrier for many investors, the analysts say. Numis has On the Beach as a house stock. Shares are up 13% at 159.40 pence. ([e-mail])

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AI Skills Shortage a Bottleneck for Telecom Firms, Nvidia Executive Says

1144 GMT - A major challenge that telecommunication companies face in adopting artificial intelligence is the shortage of skilled labor, Nvidia's global head of business development for telco operations Lilac Ilan says at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. A recent Nvidia survey of more than 400 professionals from the telecommunications industry showed that 55% of respondents struggled with a lack of skills or finding the appropriate labor in generative AI, Ilan says. She notes that the skills shortage has now replaced investment as the main challenge telecom firms grapple with when harnessing the technology. ([e-mail])

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European Stocks Edge Higher, Germany's DAX Outperforms

1112 GMT - The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index edges up 0.1% to 495.71 as investors turn cautious ahead of U.S. and eurozone inflation data later in the week. "European indices are moving cautiously higher in early trade, following on from a cautious U.S. session that saw big tech lead the declines," says Scope Markets analyst Joshua Mahony. Last week's strong gains after bumper earnings from U.S. AI giant Nvidia are starting to fade, he says. U.S. PCE inflation on Thursday and eurozone inflation data on Friday will be watched for indications on the timing of future interest-rate cuts. Germany's DAX index outperforms, rising 0.4% to a record intraday high while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 and France's CAC 40 are flat. ([e-mail])

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires;

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-27-24 1206ET