Oil Stocks Drop as China Fears Hit Crude

Oil stocks lose ground as crude prices head lower amid worries about the wider potential fallout from a cash crisis at Chinese property developer Evergrande. BP, Royal Dutch Shell, TotalEnergies, Eni and Repsol are all lower as the price of a barrel of Brent crude drops 2.2% to $73.65. "The general outlook for oil remains more bullish going into year-end amid as the market remains tight, but that will play second fiddle to any overwhelming fears brought about from China contagion risks--the key focus in the market currently," ForexLive analyst Justin Low says.

 
Companies News: 

Cohort Warns of Continued Delays; Expects Slightly Improved FY 2022 Performance

Cohort PLC said Monday that the delays to certain aspects of its work which it highlighted in July have persisted, and that it expects its performance for fiscal 2022 to be slightly ahead of fiscal 2021.

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Eurasia Mining Raises GBP11 Mln to Fund Rosgeo JV Projects

Eurasia Mining PLC said Monday that it is raising around 11 million pounds ($15.1 million) via a private placing of shares to fund its joint venture with Rosgeo in Russia.

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ZOO Digital Sees 1H Revenue Slightly Ahead of Guidance

ZOO Digital Group PLC said Monday that it expects first-half revenue to be slightly ahead of guidance.

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Christie Group Shares Rise on Swing to 1H Pretax Profit, Upbeat Outlook

Shares in Christie Group PLC rose on Monday after the company reported a swing to a pretax profit for the first half and said that it expects to beat current full-year market operating profit expectations.

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BlueRock Diamonds 1H Pretax Loss Narrowed

BlueRock Diamonds PLC said Monday that its pretax loss narrowed for the first half as revenue increased, and that it anticipates continued strength in the diamond market in the second half.

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Metals Exploration's 1H Boosted by Higher Gold, Recoveries -- Commodity Comment

Metals Exploration PLC on Monday reported a swing to profit for the first half of the year on higher gold production and recoveries. Here's what the Philippines-focused gold miner said:

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PRS REIT Exploring Raising Additional Capital for Six New Site Acquisitions

PRS REIT PLC said Monday that it has identified a pipeline of six sites and that the board is exploring the most appropriate way of raising additional capital to fund them.

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Eurowag Expects to Raise EUR200 Mln in London IPO

W.A.G. payment solutions as said Monday that it expects to raise around 200 million euros ($234.5 million) at its initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange.

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Keywords Studios Appoints Bertrand Bodson as CEO

Keywords Studios PLC said Monday that Bertrand Bodson has been appointed as its new chief executive officer.

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K3 Business Technology to Sell Sage Business to Pinnacle for GBP1.68 Mln

K3 Business Technology Group PLC said Monday that it would sell the business and assets of its Sage Business to Pinnacle Computing Ltd. for 1.68 million pounds ($2.3 million) in cash.

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N4 Pharma Books Wider 1H Loss

N4 Pharma PLC said Monday that its loss widened in the first half of the year, but that it remains "cautiously optimistic" over the commercialization of its Nuvec delivery system for cancer treatments and vaccines.

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Kazera's Diamond Processing Plant in South Africa to Multiply Throughput Under New Operator

Kazera Global PLC said Monday that production at the processing plant used for its Alexander Bay diamond project in South Africa will increase six-fold following a joint venture with the local community's company.

 
Market Talk: 

Moneysupermarket Faces Uncertainty From Power-Price Woe

1309 GMT - Moneysupermarket.com Group faces uncertainty from energy-market turbulence, Peel Hunt says, cutting its recommendation on the price-comparison site to add from buy and putting its 360 pence price target under review. Rising wholesale energy prices are causing an existential crisis for many smaller energy companies, Peel says. While price inflation and higher U.K. regulatory price caps should boost switching demand, supply-side appetite is equally important, the brokerage says. "There is good news elsewhere in the group and the [shares are] very modestly rated prior to any change to home-service forecasts, but the turmoil in the energy market adds another unwelcome layer of uncertainty on this equity story," Peel analysts say. Shares fall 9.6% to 217p.

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UK Housing Market Appears Set for Return to Normalcy

1253 GMT - Rightmove calculates the number of properties listed for sale in the U.K. rose 14% in the first two weeks of September, potentially heralding some loosening of the market and a return to normality, Davy Research says. However, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors survey pointed to a sharp decline in new listings in June, July and August as the U.K. government's stamp duty holiday wound down, the Irish research firm says. "From Sept. 30, the standard rate stamp duty band will return to GBP125,000 from GBP250,000 currently," Davy says. But this change is relatively small, with home buyers saving just GBP2,500, so stamp duty relief's final elimination will have a limited market activity effect in September, the firm says.

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S4 Capital's Zemoga Merger Seen as Good Step for Future Revenue Growth

1220 GMT - S4 Capital's acquisition of Colombia-based digital transformation company Zemoga, which caters U.S. clients, may have been closed at a consideration of around GBP50 million, Peel Hunt estimates. The U.K. digital advertising and marketing-services company could double its revenue again in the next three years as it expands its capabilities, the U.K. brokerage says. Peel Hunt increases its full-year 2022 and 2023 earnings-per-share forecasts by around 3% and reiterates its buy rating on the stock.

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Gilt Selloff Expected to Continue

1107 GMT - Expectations of higher interest rates and positive net sovereign bond supply suggest that investors will likely continue to sell gilts, driving yields higher, say Mizuho. The central bank could announce an early end to its bond-buying program at its rate-setting meeting this Thursday which, combined with positive net supply, points towards the latest gilt selloff continuing, it says. However, the BOE "has been extremely prescriptive on its path to reducing its balance sheet" and Mizuho analysts expect that quantitative tightening "will only have a mild tightening effect." This should leave the BOE plenty of scope to raise interest rates. Mizuho projects that rates will start to rise next year and can continue doing so until around 2025.

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UK Energy Bailouts Must Be Tied to Tackling Supply Crisis, Union Says

1106 GMT - Any U.K. government bailout for failing energy companies must come with guarantees for the future of the U.K.'s energy security, the GMB union says following reports that the government is considering offering state-backed loans to suppliers. "We can't have a repeat of 2008 where the banks got a get-out-of-jail free card. Any bailout must come with cast-iron guarantees on significant changes that tackle the UK's growing energy crisis. Otherwise, we'll only be lining the pockets of bandit capitalism once again, while losing more and more control over our energy future," the union says. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng will hold crisis talks with industry bosses including Centrica and E.On on Monday, the BBC reported.

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UK Gilts Face 'A Lot of Pressure' this Week

1049 GMT - U.K. sovereign bonds should be under "a lot of pressure" this week as the Bank of England announces its policy decision this Thursday, says Mizuho. "There remains the possibility that the BOE announce an early end to quantitative easing at Thursday's meeting, and there's limited reason for the Bank to need to push back much against current pricing," analysts at the Japanese banks say. Gilt yields have risen across the board, led by shorter-dated gilts, as investors price in the possibility of higher interest rates going forwards. The 2-year gilt yield hit an intraday high of 0.293% Monday, after hitting a 19-month high of 0.306% last Friday, according to Tradeweb.

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UK Building, Property Stocks Drop After Price Data

1034 GMT - U.K. construction and property stocks fall after industry data showed a slowdown in house-price rises. National average asking prices of newly marketed properties increased 0.3% (GBP1,091) this month to a new all-time high of GBP338,462, though the latter is only GBP15 higher than the previous record in July, online estate agent Rightmove said. "This morning's Rightmove data point to U.K. house-price inflation cooling off--asking prices were flat over the past two months," brokerage Davy says. "This suggests the surge in U.K. house-price inflation to double-digit rates, in part prompted by [finance minister] Rishi Sunak's stamp-duty holiday, is now finally coming to an end." Shares in Barratt Developments, Taylor Wimpey, Berkeley Group, Persimmon and Rightmove itself are all lower.

 

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 20, 2021 09:32 ET (13:32 GMT)

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