UKX FTSE 100 Index

Sterling Seen Giving Up Recent Gains

Expectations of an aggressive U.K. interest-rate rise continue to support sterling but this is likely to prove temporary, ING says. "Looking beyond today's price action, we still think sterling may have to give up some of its recent gains as our economist expects the Bank of England to underdeliver on monetary tightening," ING analysts say. Sterling also appears "somewhat complacent" to the new post-Brexit frictions and the material risk of the EU imposing retaliatory trade measures should the U.K. unilaterally suspend parts of the Northern Ireland protocol, they say. GBP/USD rises 0.4% to a three-week high of 1.3739 and EUR/GBP falls 0.2% to 0.8461, according to FactSet.

 
Companies News: 

Hostmore to Float in London on Nov. 2

Hostmore PLC said Friday that it expects its shares to be admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange on Nov. 2, following its separation from Electra Private Equity PLC.

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Morgan Advanced Materials Appoints Richard Armitage as Chief Financial Officer

Morgan Advanced Materials PLC said Friday that it has appointed Richard Armitage as the company's next chief financial officer, effective May 30, 2022.

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Newmark Security Managing Supply Disruption; to Reorganize Capital

Newmark Security PLC said Friday that it is well-placed to navigate supply-chain disruption and that it will conduct a reorganization of its capital.

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Shell Appoints Wael Sawan as Director of Gas and Renewables

Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Friday that it has appointed Wael Sawan as director of the Integrated Gas and Renewable and Energy Solutions division, replacing veteran Maarten Wetselaar who will join Spain's Cepsa as chief executive.

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Kitchenware Brand ProCook Considers London IPO

Project Berry Topco Ltd., or ProCook, said Friday that it is looking at listing the company in London.

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ITM Power Conditionally Raises Around GBP250 Mln via Discounted Placing, Shares Fall

Shares in ITM Power PLC fell Friday after the company said it has conditionally raised around 250 million pounds ($341.85 million) via an oversubscribed discounted share placing.

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Hochschild Triggers Option to Earn Stake in Canadian Gold Project

Hochschild Mining PLC said Friday that it has exercised its option to earn a 60% stake in the Snip gold project in British Columbia, Canada.

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Light Science Technologies Shares Rise on Stock Market Debut

Shares of Light Science Technologies Holdings PLC rose as much as 19% early Friday as the company began trading on the London Stock Exchange's junior AIM, implying a market capitalization of 20.8 million pounds ($28.4 million).

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Jupiter Fund's Assets Under Management Rose by GBP414 Mln in 3Q

Jupiter Fund Management PLC said Friday that its assets under management increased by 414 million pounds ($566.1 million) in the third quarter.

 
Market Talk: 

Antofagasta to Benefit From Tightening Copper Market But Challenges Remain

0904 GMT - As copper inventories remain low and risks around smelter curtailments grow, the copper market is moving towards a potentially acute near-term state, RBC's Tyler Broda says. In London, Antofagasta is the go-to copper name and its shares are significantly correlated with the red metal price. In order to reflect copper price optionality, RBC raises the Chilean miner to sector perform from underperform, with the target price increasing to 1,350 pence from 1,150 pence. However, several issues remain for Antofagasta, including drought conditions in Chile which could affect 2022 production, the upcoming presidential elections, and inflation. Shares have risen 9% in the last seven days.

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Pearson's Slip in Higher Education Sales Spooks Investors

0854 GMT - Pearson's nine-month update showed higher education sales have slipped 7% in 2021 to date, worrying investors despite it maintaining full-year guidance, Interactive Investor says. The education company has seen higher education numbers slip with coronavirus infections in American colleges potentially deterring new enrolments and signs of strength in the U.S. jobs market offering an alternative, the investment platform says. Even after a significant decline in the share price since the summer peak, Pearson's price-to-earnings ratio still trades above three- and ten-year averages, suggesting shares are far from cheap, Interactive Investor says. "For now, and given the company's ongoing transition, analyst consensus opinion currently points to a hold," Interactive Investor says. Shares are down 10% at 654.0 pence.

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Hochschild's Canadian Gold Project to Provide Growth, Diversification

0848 GMT - The Snip gold project in Canada could become a source of medium-term growth for Hochschild Mining, while diversifying its geographic exposure from Peru and Argentina, RBC Capital Markets says. The FTSE 250 company has exercised its option to earn a 60% interest in the project over three years, which is seen by RBC as a welcome development. With the political situation in Peru moderating, resource additions at existing assets and the acquisition of Snip, RBC continues to see potential for a re-rating of Hochschild shares. "This is further augmented by the as yet (in our view) uncaptured potential from its rare earth project Aclara within market valuations," the bank says.

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Aviation, Travel Stocks Rise on Lateral Flow Test News

0800 GMT - Shares in U.K.-listed aviation and travel groups rose on Friday on news that the U.K. government would allow fully vaccinated international passengers arriving in England from countries not on the government's red list to use lateral flow tests--which are cheaper than PCR tests--from Oct. 24. Shares in IAG--which houses carriers British Airways and Iberia among others--were up 2.1% at 180.84 pence. Low cost carrier easyJet was up 2.35% at 645.40 pence, with Ryanair was up 1.4% at EUR17.18. German travel group TUI was up 0.6%, at 267.70 pence with eastern-Europe-focused Wizz Air up 1.8% at 4,664 pence. Leisure-travel group Jet2 was also up: 26.50 pence, or 2.1%, at 1,301.50 pence.

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Shortages Are Limiting Economic Growth in Advanced Economies

0757 GMT - While the global economy has continued to grow at a fairly healthy pace, businesses are reporting that shortages are limiting growth, particularly in advanced economies, Capital Economics says. Suppliers' delivery times have continued to lengthen, backlogs of work are mounting and congestion at ports has increased, CE says. Most of the shortages should begin to ease in the year ahead, but shortages of labor could be relatively persistent, the economic-research firm warns. Staffing issues seem most pronounced in the U.S. and U.K., implying that the risk of sustained above-target inflation is also greatest in those economies, CE says.

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Pearson's Nine-Month Update Seen as Solid but Unremarkable

0724 GMT - Pearson's nine-month performance update was in line with expectations, reiterating guidance--though it does leave a slight sense of what might have been, Citi says. The FTSE 100 education company's performance was solid enough, but had community college enrolments in the U.S. been a little more robust, the conversation around the company would surely have been about consensus upgrades, the U.S. bank says. "We expect limited change to consensus forecasts at this stage with downward pressure on [U.S. Higher Education Courseware] offset by upward pressure to Assessments," the bank says. Citi retains its buy rating and target price of 930.0 pence. Shares are down 2.5% at 711.0 pence.

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BP's Investment Into New Businesses to Benefit From Rising Commodity Prices

0549 GMT - BP's stock has lagged behind peers this year but the energy company is well placed to benefit from higher commodity prices, Berenberg says. The company should generate strong free cashflow in the coming quarters and this will enable attractive shareholder returns as well as a rise in investments into lower-carbon businesses, the German brokerage says. "The key for the longer-term performance of the stock will be whether the new businesses [mainly Renewables and Customers & Products] can replace declining earnings in upstream oil and refining," the broker says. Berenberg upgrades its rating on the stock to buy from hold, and raises its price target to 425 pence from 310 pence.

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; Write to Sarka Halas at sarka.halas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 15, 2021 05:41 ET (09:41 GMT)

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