FTSE 100 Falls as Oil, Precious-Metal Prices Drop

FTSE 100 Falls as Oil, Precious-Metal Prices Drop

0805 GMT - The FTSE 100 drops 0.2%, or 18 points to 7105, dragged down by precious-metal miners and oil majors as crude, gold and silver prices retreat. Fresnillo and Polymetal International lose ground as gold and silver prices drop 0.7% and 1.6% respectively, while BP and Royal Dutch Shell are lower as Brent crude subsides 2.8% to $68.71 a barrel. BDSwiss says the gold-price drop could be due to Chinese government intervention to prevent commodity speculation. "And there was speculation that someone wanted to dump gold before Tuesday's U.S. consumer price report, which is expected to show a decline in the inflation rate," BDSwiss analyst Marshall Gittler says. Power generator SSE rises 2% amid speculation about activist-investor stake-building. ([e-mail])

 
Companies News: 

Philip Morris Raises Offer for Vectura to $1.42 Bln

Philip Morris International Inc. said Monday that it has increased its offer for Vectura Group PLC to 1.02 billion pounds ($1.42 billion), trumping Friday's offer from Carlyle Europe Partners V for the U.K. pharmaceutical company.

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Hargreaves Lansdown FY 2021 Assets Under Administration Rose

Hargreaves Lansdown PLC on Monday reported a rise in assets under administration for fiscal 2021, and said it delivered a record performance in the year as a whole.

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U.K. Takeover Panel Extends Clayton Dubilier Bid Deadline for Wm. Morrison

The U.K. Takeover Panel said Monday that it has extended the deadline for Clayton Dubilier & Rice LLC to make an offer for U.K. grocer Wm. Morrison Supermarkets PLC in light of the latest offer by SoftBank Group Corp.'s Fortress Investment Group Ltd.

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Halma Acquires Three Companies for GBP48.8 Mln

Halma PLC said Monday that it has recently completed three acquisitions for a total consideration of 48.8 million pounds ($67.7 million), and closed the sale of security systems provider Texecom Ltd. for GBP65 million.

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Deliveroo: Delivery Hero Owns 5.09% of Issued Share Capital

Deliveroo PLC said Monday that it received a notification late Friday that Berlin-based food-delivery services company Delivery Hero SE now owns 5.09% of its issued share capital.

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McColl's Is Considering Capital Raise

McColl's Retail Group PLC on Monday confirmed that it is considering a capital raise to develop its Morrisons Daily stores.

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Argo Blockchain 1H Pretax Profit Jumped to More Than GBP10 Mln

Argo Blockchain PLC on Monday reported improved profit for the first half of the year, reflecting higher production and Bitcoin prices.

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Lok 'n Store FY 2021 Self-Storage Revenue, Occupancy Space Rose

Lok 'n Store Group PLC said Monday that it closed its fiscal 2021 with an increase in self-storage revenue and total occupancy space.

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PageGroup Swung to a 1H Pretax Profit; Resumed Dividends

PageGroup PLC on Monday reported a swing to a pretax profit for the first half of the year, showing a strong recovery from its performance in the year-earlier period, which was significantly hit by the effects of Covid-19.

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Rothermere Gets Extension to Bid Deadline for Daily Mail & General Trust

Daily Mail & General Trust PLC said Monday that the U.K. Takeover Panel has extended the deadline for Rothermere Continuation Ltd. to either make an offer for the media group or walk away.

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Esken Estimates Ryanair's Southend Base Closure Could Hit Ebitda by GBP1.4 Mln in FY 2023

Esken Ltd. said Monday that the closure of Ryanair Holdings PLC's base at the London Southend airport could have an impact of around 1.4 million pounds ($1.9 million) on its Ebitda and cash headroom for fiscal 2023 if no mitigating actions are taken.

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Smartspace Software 1H Revenue Expected to Rise

Smartspace Software PLC said Monday that revenue for the first half of fiscal 2022 is expected to increase, and that growth is also anticipated to accelerate in the second half of the year.

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Domino's Pizza Group Exits Switzerland

Domino's Pizza Group PLC said Monday that it has reached agreements to sell its shareholding in Domino's Pizza GmbH for 0.3 million Swiss franc ($327,833).

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Nightcap to Open New London Cocktail Club Site in Bristol

Nightcap PLC said Monday that it has entered into a lease for a new London Cocktail Club site in central Bristol.

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Polygon Global Partners Gets 1.03% Watchstone Offer Acceptances

U.K.-based investment-management company Polygon Global Partners LLP said Monday that it has received acceptances from Watchstone Group PLC shareholders owning 1.03% of its issued share capital in relation to Polygon's 15.7 million pound ($21.8 million) mandatory offer.

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Clarkson 1H Pretax Profit, Revenue Rose

Clarkson PLC said Monday that pretax profit and revenue increased in the first half of the year, with strong performance across all business areas.

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Smartspace Software's Shares Fall on Weaker 1H Performance in Two Businesses

Shares in Smartspace Software PLC fell on Monday after the company said that sales in its strategic partner Evoko Naso were lower than expected in the first half of fiscal 2022 and that its Anders & Kern business suffered a hit in revenue.

 
Market Talk: 

Hargreaves Lansdown Shares' Post-Results Performance Seen as Harsh

0749 GMT - Hargreaves Lansdown's earnings for fiscal 2021 were slightly below market expectations for the period, driving a significant drop in its share price. The FTSE 100 retail-investment platform also missed Shore Capital's views. However, the U.K. brokerage says that Hargreaves Lansdown has a good business model, adding that it detects "an unusual level of negativity towards HL from analysts and institutional investors." Shore says HL's "relatively muted share-price performance seems harsh given the strength of execution over the last 18 months." Shore has a buy recommendation on the stock. Shares are down 8.5% at 1500.50 pence. ([e-mail]; @sabelaojeaguix)

Oil Slides as Futures Curve Signals Easing Demand

0751 GMT - Brent crude oil is down 2.5% at $68.99 a barrel and WTI futures are down 2.6% at $66.49 a barrel as concerns over the impact of the Delta variant of the coronavirus on oil demand continue to intensify. The premium Brent contracts for future months have compared with nearer months is becoming less pronounced, signaling an easing of supply tightness, ING's Warren Patterson says. That comes as OPEC+ prepares to continue with plans to increase production, and as Chinese trade data show that crude oil imports over the last month have softened. Typhoon disruptions, as well as "high oil prices, limited import quotas especially for private refiners, and refinery maintenance have been weighing on crude oil demand from the country," he adds. ([e-mail]; @davidhodari)

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-09-21 0430ET