The FTSE 100 Index closed Friday down 0.5% at 7562 points, in line with its European peers, as investors weighted the possibilities of a rate hike by the U.S. Fed, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan next week. Croda International shares dragged the index into negative territory with a fall of 12.45% after the specialty chemicals group issued a profit warning on the back of a sharp drop in volume sales that is expected to continue, CMC Markets UK chief market analyst Michael Hewson says in a note. The list of top fallers was followed by Smurfit Kappa and Beazley, down 3.1% and 2.9%, respectively.


COMPANIES NEWS:

Diageo Names Interim CEO Debra Crew as CEO

Diageo said Friday that interim Chief Executive Officer Debra Crew has been appointed CEO, effective as of Thursday.

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UK Regulator Says The Key, RM units Merger Won't Be Referred to Phase 2 Investigation

The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority said Friday that it won't refer the merger of The Key Group with RM Integris and RM Finance to a phase 2 investigation under the provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002.

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Croda International Sees Lower Full-Year Pretax Profit On Customer Destocking

Croda International said Friday that it expects 2023 pretax profit to fall on year as it has seen lower sales volumes in the year to May 31.

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Mothercare CEO Daniel Le Vesconte Steps Down With Immediate Effect

Mothercare said Friday that Chief Executive Officer Daniel Le Vesconte has stepped down from his role and as a board director with immediate effect.

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Network International Agrees to GBP2.2 Bln Takeover Proposal; Cancels $100 Mln Buyback

Network International Holdings said Friday that it has reached an agreement over the terms of a takeover proposal from Brookfield Asset Management which values its entire issued and to be issued capital at around 2.2 billion pounds ($2.76 billion).

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Shoe Zone Recent Performance Exceeded Expectations

Shoe Zone said Friday that performance since the publication of interim results on May 16 has exceeded expectations.

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NWF Group Sees 2023 Pretax Profit Above Expectations On Strong Momentum

NWF Group said on Friday that the momentum seen in the first half of its fiscal year carried over and that as a result its pretax profit is seen above market expectations.

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S4 Capital Backs 2023 Guidance

S4 Capital said Friday that its guidance for 2023 remains unchanged and that it will continue to examine strategic combinations.

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Amigo Holdings Shares Jump on Agreement to Explore Debt Investment

Shares in Amigo Holdings more than tripled Friday after the company said it has agreed to grant exclusivity to financier and shareholder Michael Fleming to explore a debt investment.

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Altona Rare Earths Rise on First Day of Trading; Raises GBP2.0 Mln for Africa Project

Shares in Altona Rare Earths rose Friday as the company traded on the London Stock Exchange for the first time, and that it raised 2.0 million pounds ($2.5 million) via an oversubscribed placing and a subscription.

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Versarien Shares Tumble on Widened Pretax Loss in FY 2023

Shares in Versarien dropped on Friday after the company said there is significant doubt in its ability to continue due to being dependent on cash inflows from asset sales or further issue of shares, and that its pretax loss widened in fiscal 2023.

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Woodbois Swung to 2022 Loss After Interest-Rate Hikes Hit Asset Values

Woodbois on Friday reported a swing to a pretax loss for 2022 after it booked a noncash loss on the value of its biological assets reflecting rising interest rates worldwide.

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CK Asset Holdings Advances Unconditional Date for Civitas Social Housing Takeover Bid

CK Asset Holdings said Friday that it has brought forward the unconditional date for its takeover bid for Civitas Social Housing to June 23, from July 21.

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Zambeef Products Warns of Lower Total Basic Earnings Per Share for FY 2023

Zambeef Products warned Friday that its total basic earnings per share for the year ended March 31 will be 113% lower in Zambian kwacha, and 112% lower in dollars, than in fiscal 2022 after experiencing a challenging operating environment in the second half.

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Katoro Gold Pretax Loss in 2022 Widened on Impairments

Katoro Gold said Friday that it its pretax loss widened slightly in 2022, mainly due to impairments.

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Tungsten West Raises Additional GBP195,675 Through Open Offer

Tungsten West said Friday it had conditionally raised 195,675 pounds ($245,768) via an open offer and that therefore it has raised around GBP7.1 million through an oversubscribed convertible loan note placing and the open offer.

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Dukemount Capital FY 2022 Pretax Loss Widened; in Talks to Restore Share Trading

Dukemount Capital reported a widened pretax loss for fiscal 2022 on its delayed earnings report.

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Safestay Swings to Pretax Loss in 2022 Amid Recovering Sector

Safestay said Friday that it swung to a pretax loss, but that revenue surged as the market environment is returning to normal.


Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires;


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-09-23 1159ET