The FTSE 100 Index closed Wednesday marginally down, 0.05% or 3.7 points to 7624, as property stocks offset the rise on the oil-exposed sector on the back of negative house-prices data. The index's dull performance was in line with global peers amid rising concerns about the outlook for global demand after a sharp fall in China's exports in May, CMC Markets UK chief market analyst Michael Hewson says in a note. Car-insurer Admiral led the falls, closing down 3.0%, followed by logistics and warehouse developer Segro and Entain, down 2.3% and 2.0%, respectively. Telecommunications group BT shares outperformed the index, closing up 3.75%.


COMPANIES NEWS:

Euronext CEO Stéphane Boujnah and Cboe's Natan Tiefenbrun among winners at FN awards -- Financial News

The 21st annual Excellence in Trading & Tech Awards were announced at a black-tie dinner at One Marylebone in London

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Roquefort Therapeutics Resumes Trading After Publishing 2022 Results

Roquefort Therapeutics shares were restored to trading in London on Wednesday following the publication of its 2022 accounts.

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Harbour In Merger Talks With Talos, Reuters Reports

-- U.K. oil-and-gas producer Harbour Energy is in talks to merge with Gulf of Mexico-focused peer Talos Energy, Reuters reported late Tuesday late citing four unnamed sources.

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Vodafone, Hutchison to Announce Merger of UK Operations on Friday or Next Week, Reuters Reports

Britain's Vodafone Group and Hong-Kong listed CK Hutchison Holdings are in the final stages of agreeing on the merger of their U.K. operations, Reuters reports, citing sources.

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IQE's CFO Tim Pullen Stepped Down; Neil Rummings Named Chief Financial Officer

IQE said Wednesday that Chief Financial Officer Tim Pullen stepped down from his role effective Tuesday and that Neil Rummings will assume the role of acting CFO with immediate effect.

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Zambeef Products Sees FY 2023 Gross Profit Missing Views As Pricing, Costs Squeeze Margins

Zambeef Products on Wednesday said it expects gross profit for fiscal 2023 to fall short of market expectations while revenue, adjusted earnings and pretax profit are seen in line.

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Ramsdens 1H Pretax Profit Jumps On Strong Revenue

Ramsdens Holdings said Wednesday that pretax profit surged in the first half-year of fiscal 2023 on the back of strong revenue, particularly its jewellery retail revenue, and that it has increased its interim dividend.

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PCI-PAL Says Sycurio Breached Confidentiality Agreement in Patent Litigation

PCI-PAL said Wednesday that competitor Sycurio Limited breached a confidentiality agreement in April 2022, put in place to protect information provided as part of a progressing patent litigation between the two companies.

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Scotgold Resources Names CFO Sean Duffy as Interim CEO

Scotgold Resources said Wednesday that it has appointed Chief Financial Officer Sean Duffy as interim chief executive officer with immediate effect.

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WE Soda Confirms London IPO Plan

Kew Soda, which trades as WE Soda, on Wednesday confirmed that it will proceed with its planned initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange, having received considerable interest from potential investors.

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Mirriad Advertising Shares Fall After It Reports Wider 2022 Pretax Loss on China Exit, Slow US Sales

Shares in Mirriad Advertising fell Wednesday after it said that 2022 pretax loss widened as revenue fell on it exiting its Chinese business and its U.S. performance in the current year was lower than anticipated.

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Gusbourne Sees Breakeven in Current Year After 2022 Pretax Loss Narrowed

Gusbourne on Wednesday said it expects to move toward breakeven in 2023 as it posted a narrower pretax loss for 2022 and revenue growth across its sales channels in the U.K. and internationally.

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Up Global Sees FY 2023 Results in Line With Expectations

Up Global Sourcing Holdings said Wednesday that performance in fiscal 2023 remains in line with market expectations.

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DiscoverIE FY 2023 Pretax Profit Rose on Higher Revenue

DiscoverIE Group said Wednesday that pretax profit for fiscal 2023 rose as revenue increased on higher sales, and that the new fiscal year has started well with continued organic sales growth over last year.

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Diageo Says Former CEO Ivan Menezes has Died

Diageo said Wednesday that former Chief Executive Officer Ivan Menezes has died following a brief illness.

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City Pub Group Flags Strong Performance in Year to Date

City Pub Group on Wednesday said it has continued to see strong performance over the five first months of 2023 and it expects this trend to continue through the second half of the year.

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Hostmore's Total Revenue, Comparative Revenue for First 22 Weeks of 2023 Fell

Hostmore said Wednesday that total revenue and like-for-like revenue for the first 22 weeks of 2023 fell but was broadly consistent with the performance it saw in the first 16 weeks of the year.

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Zenith Energy Ltd Opens Legal Proceedings Against Tunisia, Claims at Least $48 Mln

Zenith Energy Ltd said Wednesday that it has formally submitted various legal proceedings against Tunisia, claiming a total of at least $48 million.

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Jadestone Energy Completes $50 Mln Fundraising; Plans Up to $8.3 Mln Open Offer

Jadestone Energy said Wednesday that it has raised net proceeds of $50 million in its placing and subscription, and intends to raise up to a further $8.3 million in an open offer, strengthening its balance sheet.

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NIOX Group Declares 2.5p Special Dividend

NIOX Group on Wednesday declared a special dividend of 2.5 pence a share as it now believes that the company's cash generation and resources are at a level that enables it to start paying them, as previously flagged.

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LoopUp 2022 Pretax Loss Narrowed on Lower Costs; Sees 2023 in Line With Views

LoopUp Group said Wednesday that its 2022 pretax loss narrowed after booking lower costs, and that the board was confident in its ability to meet market expectations for 2023.

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VP FY 2023 Pretax Profit Fell on Exceptional Items

VP on Wednesday reported that its pretax profit for fiscal 2023 fell on year partly due to exceptional restructuring costs despite higher revenue, and said it is well placed for growth.

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DX (Group) Reaches Settlement With Tuffnells; Confirms Outlook

DX (Group) said Wednesday that it has reached a full and final settlement with Tuffnells Parcels Express in its claim against DX, which it said has no effect on its fiscal-year expectations.


MARKET TALK:

UP Global's Weak Shares Present a Buying Opportunity

1056 GMT - UP Global's unjustifiably cheap shares in recent weeks present a buying opportunity as the U.K. homeware company looks on course to another year of revenue growth and profits following today's positive update, Canaccord Genuity analyst Mark Photiades writes in a research note. "With less than two months to run until the end of the year the group is on course to achieve another year of positive growth in revenues and profits, which we view as a very successful outcome given the challenging consumer backdrop," Photiades says. Canaccord has a buy rating on the stock at a price target of 200 pence. Shares in UP Global are up 0.8% at 125.00 pence. (christian.moess@wsj.com)

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Wizz Air to Benefit From Order Book, Structural Demand Growth

1051 GMT - Wizz Air's order book and structural demand growth will help the company to expand toward a 500 plane target by 2030, Bernstein analyst Alex Irving says in a note. Although the budget airline's primary source of growth is central and eastern Europe, it also pushes into new markets where opportunities are perceived allocating planes flexibly across regions, Irving says. The airline has said it is launching operations to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and is relaunching routes to Larnaca, Cyprus, Santorini, Greece and Sohag, Egypt. It also has a ruthlessly efficient operating model, with the lowest unit cost in the sector, allowing it to go head-to-head against any other player, he says. "Structurally high margins and a strong management team provide support," Irving says. Bernstein rates the stock outperform and has a GBP55 target price. (anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)

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Ramsdens Share Price Doesn't Reflect Upgrade Momentum

1044 GMT - Ramsdens strong momentum doesn't seem to be accurately priced into shares, Liberum analysts James Allen and Nick Anderson write in a research note. Despite the financial-services company's strong track record of consensus upgrades, the share price has tended to be reactive to upward revisions rather than pricing in upgrade expectations ahead of events, the analysts say. "We therefore believe the market either doesn't expect further upward estimate revisions or has failed to price them in, despite the momentum of the business," they say. Liberum lifts its price target to 290 pence from 280 pence, while keeping a buy rating on the stock. Shares are up 3.2% at 255.00 pence. (christian.moess@wsj.com)


Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-07-23 1209ET