FTSE 100 Falls in Early Trade as UK Inflation Increases Further

0924 GMT - The FTSE 100 falls 0.2% to 6921.75 after data showed U.K. annual inflation rose more than expected to 10.1% in September, increasing the prospect of steep interest-rate rises from the Bank of England in coming months. "Food prices were the major contributor to the inflationary surge, which will only ramp up the pressure on the Bank of England to maintain a hard line on interest rates ahead of its next meeting in November," writes AJ Bell's Russ Mould. Focus remains on U.S. corporate earnings, where companies "seem to be performing well, albeit against some pretty modest expectations," he says. Retailers are among the main fallers, while Antofagasta loses 2.9% after it forecast 2023 copper production below market expectations. (jessica.fleetham@wsj.com) 


 
Companies News:

CPPGroup Launches New Strategy, Change Management Program

CPPGroup PLC said Wednesday that it is launching a new strategy and change management program after completing a review.

---

Antofagasta Sees 2023 Copper Production Increase Boosted by Los Pelambres

Antofagasta PLC on Wednesday that it expects an increase in copper production for 2023 after the completion of works at Los Pelambres, and that third quarter production rose compared with the previous period.

---

Man Group Assets Under Management Fell in 3Q in Difficult Period

Man Group PLC said Wednesday that assets under management at the end of the third quarter fell in what was a very difficult period for the industry.

---

ASOS Swung to FY 2022 Pretax Loss; Sees Volatile Start to FY 2023

ASOS PLC said Wednesday that it swung to a pretax loss for fiscal 2022 on higher sales costs, and distribution and administrative expenses, and said the business environment remains volatile going into the new year.

---

Provident Financial Sees 2022 in Line With Market Expectations Despite Backdrop

Provident Financial PLC said Wednesday that its performance for the full year is in line with market views, reflecting its shift to lower-risk costumers and despite the current market backdrop.

---

Spectris 3Q, Nine-Month Sales Rose 10% on Continued Strong Demand

Spectris PLC said Wednesday that third-quarter and year-to-date sales were up 10% after it booked continued strong demand and maintained a positive book-to-bill ratio.

---

Rathbones Group 3Q Funds Under Management Slip As Investment Values Fall

Rathbones Group PLC on Wednesday reported a slight fall in funds under management over the third quarter due to a fall in the value of its investments, but still outperformed its benchmark index.

---

Brickability 1H Revenue, Adjusted Earnings Rose

Brickability Group PLC said Wednesday that it expects its revenue for the first half of fiscal 2023 to significantly increase on-year together with adjusted earnings, following growth across all of its divisions.

---

Eastnine to Sell its Stake in Russian Fashion Retailer to Sistema for EUR193 Mln

STOCKHOLM--Swedish real-estate company Eastnine AB said Wednesday that it has entered an agreement to sell its 36% stake in Russian fashion retailer Melon Fashion Group to Sistema JSFC for around 193 million euros ($190.3 million).

---

Network International 3Q Revenue Rose; Backs Full-Year Outlook

Network International Holdings PLC said Wednesday that revenue increased in the third quarter, and reiterated its full-year expectations.

---

Liontrust Asset Management 1H Assets Under Management Fell 5.5%

Liontrust Asset Management PLC said Wednesday that assets under management and advice as at the end of first half of fiscal 2023 fell, and reported net outlflows driven by a challenging market backdrop.

---

Technology Minerals to Take Full Ownership of Recyclus via Share Issue

Technology Minerals PLC said Wednesday that it has signed an agreement to acquire the remaining issued share capital of Recyclus Group Ltd. that it doesn't already own via the issue of new shares.

---

Antofagasta 3Q Production Boosted by Los Pelambres, Centinela -- Commodity Comment

Antofagasta PLC on Wednesday reported a 40% rise in on-quarter copper production and backed full-year guidance. Here's what the Chilean copper miner had to say:

---

RHI Magnesita 3Q Met Expectations, On Track to Meet Full-year Market Views

RHI Magnesita NV said Wednesday that its third quarter was in line overall, and that it is comfortably on track to meet analysts' consensus expectations for full-year Ebita.

---

Quilter 3Q Net Inflows, Assets Under Management Fell

Quilter PLC said Wednesday that net inflows for the third quarter fell together with assets under management, though it said it was well positioned to navigate a tough business environment. 


 
Market Talk:

Antofagasta's 2023 Output Forecast Falls Short of Hopes

0909 GMT - Shares in Antofagasta fall 2% to 1083 pence after the Chilean copper miner forecast 2023 copper production below market expectations. The company's 2023 guidance of between 670,000-710,000 tonnes is short of consensus forecasts of 723,000 tonnes, RBC Capital Markets says. "We expect consensus numbers to fall coming out of the result and the market to react negatively to today's update," RBC analyst Tyler Broda says in a note. "The higher cost base and lower production in FY23 would further hamper Antofagasta's free cash-flow yield. We rate Antofagasta at sector-perform with a 950p target price." (philip.waller@wsj.com)

Spectris Looks Undervalued

0905 GMT - Spectris's third-quarter trading update was encouraging and the company's share price looks to have considerable upside, Shore Capital's Tom Fraine and Akhil Patel say in a research note. The precision-measurement specialist's valuation looks lower than the U.K. investment group expects given the recent disposal of the Omega business, which was considered to be a lower quality business than the average across the Spectris portfolio, they say. "The company has a range of growth opportunities in highly attractive markets such as pharma, electronics & semiconductors and machine manufacturing," Fraine and Patel say. Shore Capital has a buy rating on the stock. (kyle.morris@dowjones.com)


Contact: London NewsPlus; paul.larkins@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-19-22 0614ET