FTSE Rises, Housebuilders Rally After BOE Holds Rates

FTSE 100 Rises, Housebuilders Rally After BOE Holds Rates

The FTSE 100 rises as housebuilders rally after the Bank of England voted 7-2 its key interest rate unchanged at 0.1%. The BOE was widely expected to raise the rate by 15 basis points. The central bank argued that rates will have to rise in coming months to curb inflation but the 7-2 vote to maintain rates on Thursday "suggests it might take a while to shift the balance of opinion on the Monetary Policy Committee," IG analyst Chris Beauchamp says. The FTSE 100 climbs 0.4% on the day to 7283 points after the decision, from 7259 beforehand, with housebuilders Berkeley Group, Taylor Wimpey, Barratt Developments and Persimmon among the risers.

 
Companies News: 

Electrocomponents 1H Pretax Profit, Revenue Rose

Electrocomponents PLC said Thursday that pretax profit and revenue rose in the first half of its fiscal 2022, and that it has continued to record further good momentum across all regions during the first five weeks of the second half.

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Tufton Oceanic to Raise up to $39.1 Mln in Tap Issue for Acquisitions

Tufton Oceanic Assets Ltd. said Thursday that it will hold a tap issue raising up to $39.1 million in order to capitalize on a pipeline of secondhand vessels.

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Empiric Student Property's Occupancy Rose; Expects to Increase 2022 Dividend

Empiric Student Property PLC said Thursday that occupancy rose at the beginning of the academic year 2021-22, that it has declared a dividend and that it will distribute higher-than-expected funds to shareholders in 2022.

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Belluscura Expects to Beat FY Market Views Amid Higher Sales

Belluscura PLC said Thursday that it expects to close 2021 surpassing current market expectations for its unit sales and revenue, helped by the signing of five distribution agreements in North America.

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NCC Group FY 2022 Revenue to Date Ahead of Comparable Period; Sees Full Year in Line

NCC Group PLC said Thursday that like-for-like revenue for fiscal 2022 to date is ahead of the same period last year and that its performance for the full year is in line with management's expectations.

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Draper Esprit Says Positive Momentum Has Continued Into 1H

Draper Esprit PLC said Thursday that the positive momentum of the second half of fiscal 2021 has continued into the first half of fiscal 2022.

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Pod Point Prices IPO at GBP352 Mln; Conditional Trading Starts in London

Pod Point Group Holdings PLC on Thursday priced its initial public offering at 225 pence a share, implying a market capitalization of 352 million pounds ($481.7 million) as conditional trading started on the London Stock Exchange.

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TI Fluid Systems 3Q Revenue Fell on Lower Production Volumes

TI Fluid Systems PLC said Thursday that revenue for the third quarter of 2021 declined due to lower production volumes.

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Hansard Global 1Q New Business Fell

Hansard Global PLC said Thursday that in the first quarter of fiscal 2022 its new business was 31.4 million pounds ($43.0 million) in "present value of new business premiums," and that this was 8.2% lower than in the year-prior period.

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Sureserve Appoints CFO Peter Smith as CEO

Sureserve Group PLC said Thursday that it appointed current interim Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer Peter Smith as its new chief executive.

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Spiritus Mundi to List in London, Seek Clinical-Dignostics Acquisition

Spiritus Mundi PLC said on Thursday that it plans to list on the London Stock Exchange, and that it had already raised around 1.2 million pounds ($1.6 million) in a pre-IPO fundraising round.

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Devolver Digital Shares Rise in Stock Market Debut

Shares of Devolver Digital, Inc rose 14% in early trade Thursday as the company started trading on London's junior AIM, implying a market capitalization of 791.6 million pounds ($1.08 billion).

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Wentworth Resources Appoints Aaron LeBlanc as COO

Wentworth Resources PLC said Thursday that it has appointed Aaron LeBlanc as its new chief operating officer.

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Manx Financial Group Appoints Douglas Grant as CEO

Manx Financial Group PLC said Thursday that it has appointed Douglas Grant as chief executive officer to succeed Denham Eke, and that Mr. Eke has been appointed executive vice chairman of the group.

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SDI Group Expects to Report FY 2022 Earnings Ahead of Market Views

SDI Group PLC said Thursday that it expects earnings for fiscal 2022 to beat market views after a strong performance in the first half.

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ThomasLloyd Energy Impact Trust Plans $340 Mln London IPO

ThomasLloyd Energy Impact Trust PLC said Thursday that it intends to float on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange, targeting a $340 million fundraise to invest in sustainable energy infrastructure in Asia.

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City Pub CFO Tarquin Williams to Step Down

City Pub Group PLC said on Thursday that Chief Financial Officer Tarquin Williams will stand down on Nov. 29 and will be replaced by Holly Elliott.

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Metro Bank Receives Takeover Approach from Carlyle Group; Shares Rise

Shares in Metro Bank PLC rose Thursday after the company said that it has received a bid approach from investment firm Carlyle Group.

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IAG 3Q Revenue Is Forecast to Rise -- Earnings Preview

IAG is scheduled to report results for the third period on Friday. Here's what you need to know:

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Alien Metals Raises GBP4 Mln via Share Placing, More Than Planned

Alien Metals Ltd. said Thursday that it has raised 4 million pounds ($5.5 million) via the share placing announced earlier this morning, more than planned.

 
Market Talk: 

BOE to Wait for More Data Before Raising Rates

1241 GMT - By leaving the bank rate at 0.1%, against expectations for a 15 basis-point increase, the Bank of England has opted to wait for more evidence on the economic impact of the furlough scheme and other government support schemes ending, says Quilter Investors. "Lifting off the zero bound of rates will have to wait until evidence allows," says portfolio manager Hinesh Patel. "Acting today would have been premature in our view, given there remains insufficient data on structural labour market developments... it makes sense for the MPC [Monetary Policy Committee] to remain cautious," he says.

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Sterling Falls After BOE Holds Rates, But Increases Are to Come

1228 GMT - Sterling falls after the Bank of England voted 7-2 to hold its benchmark interest rate at 0.1%, surprising many market participants who expected the central bank to lift the rate by 15 basis points. The pound's falls may be limited, however, as the BOE said it will be "necessary over coming months to increase Bank Rate in order to return CPI inflation sustainably to the 2% target." It expects inflation to peak at 5% in April 2022, higher than the 4% expected in August. EUR/GBP rises to a four-week high of 0.8528 after the decision, from 0.8467 beforehand, according to FactSet. GBP/USD falls to a four-week low of 1.3549, from 1.3645 beforehand.

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Long-End Gilt Yields Expected to Rise if BOE QE Cut Short

1157 GMT - The Bank of England could signal a more gradual pace of monetary policy tightening that markets are pricing in and choose to end quantitative easing early, says Mizuho rates strategist Peter McCallum. If rate-setters voted to end bond purchases early "it would imply around GBP20bn more gilts remaining in the market for investors to buy," he says. "We'd expect long-end gilt yields to rise more than shorter-maturity gilts..., partially reversing some of the [curve]flattening we saw after the Budget," McCallum says. The U.K.'s debt agency slashed planned gilt sales for the 2021-22 fiscal year last week, shortly after the government's Budget, with long-end supply hit particularly hard.

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Electrocomponents PLC Revenue Momentum to Prompt Rise in EPS Estimates

1154 GMT - Electrocomponents PLC's revenue momentum continued into October with EPS consensus estimates for FY 2022 likely to rise by low to mid single digits, Jefferies says. The distributor of industrial and electronics products reported an interim adjusted EPS 2% above consensus expectations at 23 pence, and a strong free cash flow for the first half, with revenue up to EUR1.21 billion, Jefferies says. "We expect a powerful combination of robust organic growth and M&A in 2021 and 2022 driven by own-label, wallet share gain, and an under-leveraged balance sheet," the bank says. Jefferies has a buy rating on the stock and a 1,250 pence target price. Shares are up 4.4% at 1,188 pence.

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; Write to Sarka Halas at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-04-21 0914ET