The FTSE 100 closed up 0.44% on Monday, rebounding from a poor performance last week. After some initial weakness, stocks found their footing, moving higher in the afternoon session, IG Group PLC Chief Market Analyst Chris Beauchamp says. The reappointment of Jerome Powell as the Federal Reserve chair was the likely culprit, providing the continuity markets craved and proved the trick for a market bounce this afternoon, Mr. Beauchamp says. "Equities traditionally do better around Thanksgiving and into the end of November, and the continued resilience comes despite the worsening situation in Europe and a still-unsolved supply chain problem," Mr. Beauchamp says, adding there are still indications of a willingness to buy on weakness.
Companies News:
Thruvision 1H Pretax Loss Widened on Lower Revenue; Confident for 2H
Thruvision Group PLC said Monday that its pretax loss for the first half of the fiscal 2022 widened as revenue was lower, but added that it expects a strong performance for the second half.
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BHP Advances Plans to Combine Oil, Gas Unit With Woodside -- Update
SYDNEY--BHP Group Ltd. advanced plans to combine its oil-and-gas business with Woodside Petroleum Ltd., which on Monday approved a multibillion-dollar project in Australia that supports the role of natural gas in the global energy transition.
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Plexus Holdings FY 2021 Pretax Loss Narrowed on Market Stabilization
Plexus Holdings PLC said Monday that its pretax loss for fiscal 2021 narrowed as the energy market began to stabilize following the impact of the pandemic.
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Grafenia 1H Pretax Loss Nearly Halved
Grafenia PLC reported Monday a nearly halved pretax loss for the first half of fiscal 2022, and said that its performance in October was above last year's and that November should end better than in the previous year.
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Zephyr Energy to Acquire Interest in North Dakota Wells for $36 Mln; Shares Rise
Shares in Zephyr Energy PLC rose Monday in early trading after the company said that it agreed to acquire non-operated interests in certain wells within the Williston Basin field in North Dakota for $36 million.
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Frontier Developments' Shares Drop on Lowered FY Guidance Linked to Sales -- Update
Frontier Developments PLC shares fell Monday after the company said it is downgrading its full-year revenue expectations as a result of lower PC sales of its Jurassic World Evolution 2 video game, which will be its biggest release and largest revenue contributor in the financial year.
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IQE Appoints Americo Lemos as CEO
IQE PLC said Monday that it has appointed Americo Lemos as Chief Executive Officer with effect from Jan. 10.
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SysGroup 1H Pretax Profit Doubled on Lower Costs
SysGroup PLC said Monday that its pretax profit for the first half of 2022 doubled, driven by lower costs.
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e-Therapeutics's CFO to Stand Down
e-Therapeutics PLC said Monday that Karl Keegan will be stepping down as chief financial officer with effect from Dec. 31 for personal reasons.
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Gresham House Appoints Simon Pyper as Interim Chairman
Gresham House Strategic PLC said Monday that Simon Pyper has become the company's interim chairman with immediate effect following Helen Sinclair's resignation as interim chairwoman earlier this month.
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Altus Strategies to Sell Morocco Projects, Take Stake in Buyer
Altus Strategies PLC said Monday that it has agreed to sell its Morocco-focused subsidiary Aterian Resources Ltd. to Eastinco Mining & Exploration PLC.
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Grit Real Estate Income Targets $215.6 Mln Raising via Premium Placing, Open Offer
Grit Real Estate Income Group Ltd. said Monday that it aims to raise around $215.6 million via the issue of up to 414.6 million new shares through an open offer and share placing at a premium price.
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Aura Energy Reshuffles Board as It Transitions to Uranium Producer; Plans Subsidiary Spinoffs
Aura Energy Ltd. said Monday that it will reshuffle its board as the company shifts to becoming a uranium producer from a uranium explorer, and that it plans to spin off its gold subsidiary in 2022.
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Zenith Energy to Acquire Interest in Tunisian Concession for $1.7 Mln
Zenith Energy Ltd. said Monday that it has agreed to acquire a stake in the North Kairouan permit and the Sidi El Kilani Concession in Tunisia from China National Petroleum Corp. for $1.7 million.
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Ondine Biomedical Expects to Raise GBP22.2 Mln in December AIM Listing
Ondine Biomedical said Monday that it expects to raise 22.2 million pounds ($29.9 million) in a planned initial placing on London's alternative investment market in December.
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Victoria PLC Confirms Talks to Buy Part of Balta Group
Victoria PLC on Monday confirmed that it is in talks to acquire a part of Belgian company Balta Group.
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Xpediator CEO Steps Down
Xpediator PLC said Monday that Chief Executive Officer Rob Ross will step down with immediate effect.
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Mountview's Directors Reappointed Despite Minority Shareholder Opposition
Mountview Estates PLC said Monday that the re-election of non-executive directors A.W. Powell and M.L. Archibald was passed despite the opposition of more than 30% of shareholders.
Market Talk:
Britvic FY Tipped to Match Targets; Costs May Weigh
1304 GMT - Britvic full-year earnings on Nov. 24 are likely to match market forecasts, but margins may face cost pressure in the year ahead, Citigroup says. The U.S. investment bank says it expects the soft-drink maker's 4Q trading to have been resilient and for FY results to meet consensus EBIT and earnings expectations, though a combination of cost pressure, slower recovery of "on-the-go" sales and higher investment is likely to weigh more on margins in 2021/22. Still, given the shares have traded worse than rivals in the last three months, they may already be pricing in the latter, Citi says. "We would use any further stock weakness as an attractive entry point," Citi analysts say.
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AstraZeneca Shares Seen Under Pressure Until 2022 Guidance, Reassurance on Expenses
1212 GMT - AstraZeneca's research-and-development expenses rose by about 20% in the first and second quarter and again in the third quarter, which former CFO Marc Dunoyer said was a bit exceptional, Bryan Garnier says. The third quarter saw the first-time integration of Alexion's expenses post acquisition, expenses for Covid-19 products, and higher expenses for legacy products, Bryan Garnier says, relaying some comments by Dunoyer. Investors have been worried about the future increase of these expenses and particularly for R&D, the investment bank says. Bryan Garnier remains confident about the pharma company's strong fundamentals and future growth, but says that until the company issues 2022 guidance to reassure investors about the operating-expenses trajectory, the share price will remain under pressure.
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Hochschild Mining Shares May Struggle After Peru Ruling
1210 GMT - Shares in Hochschild Mining drop 34% to 109 pence on Monday after the Peruvian government said it won't be extending approvals for certain mining projects, including Hochschild's Pallancata and Inmaculada gold and silver mines. While the company will likely dispute this decision, the shares are unlikely to make significant gains until the matter is resolved, Bank of America says, downgrading the stock to under-perform from buy and cutting its price target to 90p from 280p.
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Marks & Spencer Rises After Takeover Speculation
1026 GMT - Marks & Spencer Group shares gain 3% after weekend news reports suggested U.S. private equity giant Apollo Global Management was considering a buyout of the U.K. retailer. The company's food business and its tie-up with online retailer Ocado Group are likely to have sparked Apollo's interest, particularly given M&S's upbeat 1H results earlier this month, Hargreaves Lansdown says. "However, shares have surged more than 27% since those impressive results and if the price continues to climb, there is a chance Apollo may turn into more of a reluctant suitor," HL analyst Susannah Streeter says.
Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; Write to Sarka Halas at sarka.halas@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-22-21 1245ET
