FTSE 100 closed up 0.5%, a modest rebound in the wake of a strong session in Asia markets. "The FTSE 100 is managing to outperform despite the sharp fall in oil prices, which is dragging on BP and Shell but helping consumer discretionary with airlines enjoying a solid session, led by the likes of easyJet, Wizz Air and British Airways owner IAG," CMC Market UK Chief Market Analyst Michael Hewson says in a market comment. Tobacco company Imperial Brands was the top gainer, with a 3.9% rise, after backing its full-year guidance and launching a 1.1 billion pound ($1.33 billion) buyback. The index closed up 7,451.54 points.


COMPANIES NEWS:

Metro Bank Plans Capital Raise, Sky News Reports

-- Metro Bank Holdings is working on plans to raise hundreds of millions of pounds in fresh capital, Sky News reports, citing unnamed sources.

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National Grid 1H Performance in Line With Views, Underlying EPS to Be 2H Weighted

National Grid said performance for the first half has been in line with expectations and that profit will reflect historic periods more than a year ago.

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Unite Group's CEO Richard Smith to Step Down; Joe Lister Appointed as Replacement

Unite Group said Chief Executive Officer Richard Smith will step down on Dec. 31 and that Joe Lister has been appointed CEO effective Jan. 1.

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Imperial Brands Backs Full-Year View; To Launch GBP1.1 Bln Buyback

Imperial Brands said it expects to meet its guidance for fiscal 2023 and that it will launch a bigger share buyback in fiscal 2024.

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Litigation Capital Management Starts A$10 Mln Buyback

Litigation Capital Management is starting to buy back $10.0 million Australian dollars ($6.3 million) worth of its shares.

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HealthBeacon Pretax Loss Widens on Higher Cost, Needs Extra Funds

HealthBeacon reported a widened pretax loss as a result of increased costs and said it needs around 11 million euros ($11.6 million) in extra funds over the next 18-24 months to support its long-term growth.

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Motorpoint Group On-Quarter Loss Narrows on Cost Cuts, Margin Improvement

Motorpoint Group said its cost reduction and margin improvement efforts led to losses narrowing on-quarter over the first half of fiscal 2024.

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Anglesey Mining CEO Jonathan Battershill to Step Down

Anglesey Mining said Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Battershill has decided to resign from the role with effect from Jan. 1.

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CyanConnode Sees 1H Revenue Growth on Higher Sales, India Rollout

CyanConnode Holdings reported revenue growth driven by increased order volumes of Omnimesh modules.

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Grainger Rental Growth Rises Amid Record Occupancy

Grainger said that total like-for-like rental growth rose in fiscal 2023, and that private rental sector occupancy hit a record 98.6%.

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Volution Group Shares Climb After Profit Rose, Dividend Lifted

Shares of Volution Group rose after the company reported a pretax profit increase in fiscal 2023, driven by improved revenue from the refurbishment market and geographic diversification, and increased its dividend payout.

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Ramsdens Sees Higher Full-Year Profit on Continued Revenue Growth

Ramsdens Holdings said it sees pretax profit rising on continuous revenue growth in line with market expectations.

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Tintra Shares Fall on Takeover Deadline Extension

Shares in Tintra fell after it said it has agreed to extend to Nov. 5 deadline for the continuing takeover discussions with LRB 35--a vehicle controlled by directors Tariq Al Abdulla and Andrew Bascombe.

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Tavistock Investments Shares Rise After Five-Month Revenue, Earnings Climb on Year

Tavistock Investments shares rose after the company said its performance for the first five months of fiscal 2024 was significantly ahead of the year-prior comparable period.

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Victorian Plumbing Group Sees Full-Year Revenue Boost on Higher Sales

Victorian Plumbing Group said it expects to report revenue growth on increased order volumes, driven by a shift in product mix toward Victorian Plumbing own-brand ranges.

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Eden Research Raises $12 Mln Through Conditional Placing

Eden Research said it has conditionally raised 9.9 million pounds ($12 million) through a placing and retail offer, and that the funds will be used for the development of new products.

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Great Portland Estates Rental Value Grows on New Contracts

Great Portland Estates said its rental value increased driven by new leases and injection of extra funding.

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Metro Bank Shares Plunge; It Is Evaluating Fundraising Options, It Says

Metro Bank Holdings is considering its options for a capital raise but hasn't yet made a decision as to which one it will go for, it said as its shares plunged after press reports on its plans.

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Orchard Therapeutics ADSs Soar Premarket on Takeover by Kyowa Kirin

American depositary shares of Orchard Therapeutics took flight in premarket trading Thursday after the gene-therapy company agreed to be acquired by Japan's Kyowa Kirin at a rich premium.


MARKET TALK:

Abrdn Shares Seen With Value Opportunity Again

1100 GMT - Abrdn offers value opportunity again, Panmure Gordon says in a note. The gap between the investment company's market capitalization and our assessment of the potential value in the business is so great that it seems that it isn't according value to its Adviser business and fails to value the Investment business, analysts Rae Maile and Ross Luckman write. "There remains real risk that value leaks through mismanagement, but the value gap has reopened and so opportunity is again in the share price," they write. Panmure raises its rating on the stock back to buy from hold and lowers its target price to 250 pence from 272 pence. Shares in the FTSE250 group rise 2.7% to 155.35 pence, but are down 18% year to date. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)

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Anglo American's Diamond Sales Were Weaker Than Expected

1039 GMT - Anglo American's diamond sales continue to weaken, Citi analysts write in a research note. "Diamond sales have continued to soften following the peak in cycle three, while the cycle eight sales is lowest cycle sales for any of the non-Covid period since 2016," they say. Sales in the year-to-date are down 31%, but still ahead of 2019 comparable sales, the analysts say. Citi keeps a buy rating on the diversified miner's stock, with a 2,900 pence price target. Shares are down 0.7% at 2,126 pence. (christian.moess@wsj.com)

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National Grid Seen to Perform in Line With Expectations

1030 GMT - National Grid continues to perform in line with expectations, RBC Capital Markets analysts write in a research note, following the electricity-transmission network operator's update ahead of interim results. "We see this statement as neutral for National Grid with the business continuing to perform in line with expectations... we continue to expect higher returns for National Grid," RBC says. The key focus in the upcoming results--which will be published Nov. 9--will be on the intertwined discussions regarding the RIIO and ASTI frameworks set out by the U.K. energy regulator Ofgem, the Canadian bank says. The former regulates the prices National Grid and peers charge customers, while the latter is an initiative to improve U.K. energy security. Shares are up 0.7% at 943.80 pence. (christian.moess@wsj.com)


Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-05-23 1234ET