London's FTSE 100 index ended its first session in the green since Aug. 10. The index was up 0.18% at 7,270.76 points at market close on Tuesday, lifted by mining stocks. "The gains in the mining sector appeared to be helped by a sudden late rebound in Chinese markets," CMC Markets UK's Michael Hewson writes, noting the turnaround seems sudden and suggests the possibility of intervention from Chinese authorities. Fresnillo closed up 5.5%, leading the blue-chip index, while Glencore and Antofagasta gained 2.3% and 2.1%, respectively.


COMPANIES NEWS:

Microsoft Proposes New Deal for Activision Takeover to UK's Antitrust Body

The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority said that Microsoft has submitted a new deal to buy Activision after the original was blocked and the deal was prohibited on a worldwide basis.

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John Wood Group Pretax Loss Narrows on Stronger Revenue; CFO to Retire

John Wood Group said its pretax loss narrowed in the first half of the year, while revenue and earnings grew, and that its chief financial officer will retire.

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Lookers Pretax Profit Fell on Higher Finance Costs

Lookers reported a lower pretax profit for the first half on the back of higher finance costs.

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Cake Box' Positive Momentum Continues Into New Year; Chair Nilesh Sachdev to Step Down

Cake Box Holdings has seen continued positive momentum over the first half of the new fiscal year and is on track to meet revenue market forecasts for the year as a whole.

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Seeing Machines Revenue Beat Market Views on Surge in Technology Uptake

Seeing Machines said it expects to report that revenue for fiscal 2023 topped market views after the number of cars with the company technology installed more than doubled on year.

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Mirriad Advertising Pretax Loss Narrows; Sees Cash Runway to August 2024

Mirriad Advertising reported a narrowed pretax loss for the first half thanks to higher revenue and lower expenses, and estimated it has a cash runway to the end of August 2024.

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Powerhouse Energy Raises GBP1 Mln to Fund New Welsh Technology Center

Powerhouse Energy Group has raised 1 million pounds ($1.3 million) via a share placing and will use the money toward a new technology center in Bridgend, Wales.

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Empresaria Group Says Market Remains Challenging; Pretax Profit Falls

Empresaria Group on Tuesday reported a lower adjusted pretax profit and income in the first half, and said the market has shown little sign of improvement for the rest of the year.

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Gem Diamonds Cuts Production Views on Operational Issues at Lesotho Mine

Gem Diamonds lowered its full-year guidance for diamonds treated at its Letseng mine in Lesotho after slowing the throughput at the processing plant to mitigate certain operational issues.

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Frenkel Topping Group 1H Revenue Rose; Says It Is Upbeat for 2023

Frenkel Topping Group said Tuesday that revenue increased in the first half and that it is optimistic for 2023.

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RUA Life Sciences Shares Jump on Costs Running Lower Than Expected

Shares in RUA Life Sciences jumped Tuesday after the company said its overall costs are lower than expected thanks to tight controls, leading to cash resources being ahead of budget.

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STM Group Gets Further Extension for PSF Capital Takeover Plan

The U.K. Takeover Panel has extended the deadline for PSF Capital Reserve to make an offer for STM Group, or walk away, until Sept. 5 so that the parties can continue talks and the due diligence process.

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Team17 Nonexecutive Chair Chris Bell to Step Down, Frank Sagnier Named

Team17 Group Nonexecutive Chair Chris Bell plans to step down at the end of this year to focus on other business interests, and will be replaced by Frank Sagnier.

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Anexo Group Former CFO Mark Bringloe Returns as Interim CFO

Anexo Group said Mark Bringloe will be returning to the group as interim chief financial officer, having previously held the role between 2018 and July 2022.

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Pittards Files Second Notice of Intention to Appoint Administrators

Pittards has filed a second notice of intention to appoint administrators to provide protection against creditors for a further 10 business days, the company said Tuesday.

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United Oil & Gas COO Jonathan Leather to Step Down at the End of August

United Oil & Gas said its Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director Jonathan Leather will step down on Aug. 31, and the search for his successor is underway

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Omega Diagnostics Finance Director Steps Down

Omega Diagnostics Group Finance Director Chris Lea has stepped down with immediate effect.

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Swedish Battery Maker Northvolt Raises $1.2 Bln For Factory Expansion

STOCKHOLM--Swedish battery maker Northvolt has raised $1.2 billion from investors including BlackRock and Canadian pension firms ahead of a planned expansion in Europe and North America, it said Tuesday.

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Anexo Group Shares Rise on Higher Earnings

Shares of Anexo Group rose as much as 13% in early trade after the company reported higher first-half earnings on the back of improved cash collections from all its units as well as the Volkswagen emissions claim settlement.

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RTOP Plans GBP60 Mln Direct Listing on London Stock Exchange

RegTech Open Project, known as RTOP, plans to float on the London Stock Exchange via a direct listing with trading expected to start on the main market Friday.


MARKET TALK:

European Stocks Rise After Asia Rally; US Eyes Gains

1105 GMT - European stocks rise following upbeat trading in Asia and ahead of an expected higher open on Wall Street. The Stoxx Europe 600, CAC 40 and DAX advance more than 1% and the FTSE 100 gains 0.6%, with tech and property stocks among the biggest pan-European risers. Brent crude drops 0.4% to $84.10 a barrel. IG futures data show the Dow opening at 34536, versus Monday's close of 34463. "On the data side, we get July existing-home sales data for the U.S. today," Danske Bank analysts say in a note. "The housing market has largely defied rising interest rates, so data will be interesting to follow." (philip.waller@wsj.com)

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Swiss Watch Exports Were Softer Than Expected

0946 GMT - Swiss watch exports in July were down in both value, slipping just under 1% on-year to CHF2.1 billion, and volume, down 3%. The figures are softer than what analysts at RBC Capital Markets were expecting, Piral Dadhania says in a research note. Most regions have decelerated, with exports to China --the second biggest market-- down 16%, although the country's comparable base was tougher, the Canadian Bank says. Shipments to France were also muted with a 14% drop, while U.S. and Hong Kong shipments were also lower, the bank says, noting exports to the U.K. rose 6% but against easy comparables, which implies a material deceleration. "Today's data will likely read fairly cautiously for Swatch Group and Richemont and Watches of Switzerland," Dadhania says. (maitane.sardon@wsj.com)

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Cake Box Outlook Improves as Growth Path Remains Underappreciated

0922 GMT - Cake Box's update showed an improving performance as the group is benefiting from declining input costs and is passing on the benefits to franchisees to support margins, Liberum analysts Wayne Brown and Anubhav Malhotra say in a note as shares rise 6.3%. The London-listed cake retailer said franchisee store like-for-like sales for the 17 weeks ended July 30 were up 6.8%, compared with growth of 5.4% for the first 11 weeks, suggesting a last six-week run rate of 9.4%, they say. "We believe Cake Box's asset-light, high-margin and cash-generative model with a long runway for growth remains underappreciated," the analysts say. (michael.susin@wsj.com)

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Boku's Growth Prospects Support Premium Share Price

0911 GMT - Boku is well-placed to capture significant market share in the fast growing areas of global e-commerce, Jefferies says in a note. Stable core performance, as well as its latest contract win with Amazon, drive confidence for revenue acceleration and margin expansion, while the mobile-payment company's cash position remains solid, the analysts write. The group has few but deep connections with large enterprise merchants, which offer strong revenue streams, and should lead it to superior margin expansion over the medium-term, they add. The stock's premium compared with peers is supported by long-term opportunities for growth, increased operational gearing and limited investment needs, the analysts note. Jefferies starts coverage of the stock with a buy rating and 177 pence target price. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)

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Resolute Mining Beat Views on Improved Cost of Sales

0907 GMT - Resolute Mining's first-half result topped expectations after a reversal of operating costs at its Mako mine in Senegal, Berenberg analyst Richard Hatch writes in a research note. The Africa-focused gold miner posted Ebitda of $101 million, ahead of Berenberg estimates of $78 million, as the $183 million cost of sales was well below the anticipated $218 million. This, coupled with a positive fair value move of $38 million, lower finance costs and a tax gain of $3 million, drove a pretax profit of $88 million, "well ahead of our $19 million estimate," Hatch says. Berenberg rates the stock buy with a 30 pence price target. Shares are up 7.2% at 17.10 pence. (christian.moess@wsj.com)

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DP Eurasia Filing Bankruptcy for Russia Business Allows Room to Focus on Turkey

0859 GMT - DP Eurasia filing bankruptcy for its Russian business reduces both macro and political risks, although the sale of the operations would have been a better option, Liberum analysts Wayne Brown and Anubhav Malhotra say in a note. The decision will free up management to focus on significant opportunities in Turkey, they say. "The Turkish business remains free-cash-flow generative, and we would still expect leverage to come down at the end of 2023 despite the repayment of the Russian debt," the analysts say. Liberum has a buy rating on the stock and a target price of 140 pence. (michael.susin@wsj.com)


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08-22-23 1208ET