FTSE 100 Seen Opening Higher After Record Gains on Wall Street

The FTSE 100 is expected to start trading higher following gains on Wall Street overnight with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones closing at record highs. Spreadbetting firm IG sees the London index opening up 10 points after closing 18 points higher on Monday. "The continued resilience in stock markets is happening despite a backdrop of rising concern about increasing Covid cases in Asia, and the prospect of action by some central banks to rein back on stimulus," CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson says. "The move higher is being helped by rising oil prices driving gains in the oil and gas sector," Hewson says.


 
Companies News: 

Bunzl Says 3Q Revenue Rose; Sees Positive Closure to 2021

Bunzl PLC said Tuesday that revenue for the third quarter rose 13% in constant exchange rates, adding that it expects to close the year with a slight underlying revenue growth when compared with the previous year.

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Reckitt Benckiser 3Q Like-for-like Revenue Rose, Raises 2021 Guidance

Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC said Tuesday that its third-quarter revenue rose on a like-for-like basis but slipped on a reported basis, and raised its full-year revenue guidance.

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Whitbread 1H 2022 Pretax Loss Narrowed

Whitbread PLC said Tuesday that its pretax loss narrowed for the first half of fiscal 2022 as revenue rose, and that the board was confident in returning to prepandemic U.K. profit margins.

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Polymetal 3Q Gold Equivalent Production Fell 8% to 437,000 Ounces

Polymetal International PLC on Tuesday reported an 8% fall in third-quarter production, in line with expectations, and backed its full-year guidance.

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Franchise Brands' Willow Pumps Business Slow to Recover During 3Q; 2021 in Line With Views

Franchise Brands PLC said Tuesday that in the third quarter, its Willow Pumps business has been slower to recover from the reduced Covid-19-related volumes of 2020, but that the board was confident in meeting 2021 market expectations.


 
Market Talk: 

Rio Tinto Bull Disheartened by Investor Day

J.P. Morgan was disappointed by Rio Tinto's recent investor day, especially the outlook for its Australian iron-ore business, with the miner having backed away from a 360-million-ton target in the medium term. "Our previous view was that Rio's iron-ore division was a short-term turnaround story," JPM says. "We no longer view it this way, with our medium-term estimates now reflective of 2H21 performance." The bank cuts its target on the stock to A$113/share from A$143/share, although it keeps an overweight rating because of Rio's relatively low price-to-NPV, 10% yield and net cash balance. Rio is down 0.8% in Sydney at A$95.685/share.

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Rio Tinto's Carbon Plan Looks Aggressive, Highlights Industry Challenge

Rio Tinto's US$7.5 billion plan to slash its carbon emissions is aggressive and ahead of its peers, Citi says. "Others will likely have to follow suit," it says. The bank cuts its target on Rio's Australian stock to A$115/share from A$120/share, following a capital markets day that centered on the miner's pricey decarbonization plans. "Rio set an ambitious plan to reduce emissions and set its operations up to be competitive in a carbon constrained world," Citi says. However, Rio's plans also highlighted an industrywide challenge, as its rivals will also need to bear decarbonization-linked costs or be faced with a broad-based carbon tax. Rio is down 0.6% at A$95.90/share.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-26-21 0303ET