London Stocks Seen Opening Lower

0652 GMT - The FTSE 100 is expected to open 27.2 points lower, according to IG, having closed on Wednesday at 7426.14, tracking falls in Asian stocks. "Investors have moved into risk-off mode as concerns loom regarding the next Fed move, as well as rising oil prices that could spark a revival of inflation," analysts at IG write. In the U.K., the Halifax house price index declined by 4.6% year on year in August. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)

COMPANIES NEWS:

Currys Revenue Falls on Weak Nordics Performance

Currys said that first-quarter revenue fell as its Nordics markets continued to slip.

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Beazley Backs Full-Year View After Pretax Profit Rise

Beazley backed its full-year guidance after pretax profit rose to a record-high in the first half of the year.

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BATs to Sell Russian, Belarusian Businesses for Undisclosed Sum

British American Tobacco has sold its Russian and Belarusian businesses to a consortium led by members of BAT Russia's management team for an undisclosed sum, it said Thursday.

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Direct Line Pretax Loss Widened on Lower Motor Business Earnings

Direct Line Insurance Group said its pretax loss widened as it was hit by lower motor business earnings, and that it took steps to improve motor margins over the period.

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Melrose Industries Pretax Loss Narrows, Boosted by Aerospace; Upgrades 2023 Guidance

Melrose Industries said its pretax loss for the first half narrowed as revenue was boosted by the performance of its aerospace division, and upgraded its guidance for the year.

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Direct Line Agrees Sale of Brokered Commercial Insurance Business for Up to GBP550 Mln

Direct Line said it has agreed to sell its brokered commercial insurance business lines to Intact Financial Corp. for potentially up to 550 million pounds ($687.9 million).

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Nucleus's GBP242 Mln Acquisition of Curtis Banks Cleared by UK Regulator

The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority has cleared Nucleus Financial Platforms' 242 million-pound ($302.7 million) acquisition of Curtis Banks Group, following a review of the deal.

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Eurowag's 1H Pretax Profit Slipped on One-off Costs; Adjusted Earnings Rose

W.A.G Payment Solutions said that its pretax profit fell on one-off costs from acquisitions and its transformation program, but revenue and adjusted earnings rose.

MARKET TALK:

Oxford Nanopore Technologies' Share Fall Seen as Unjustified

0546 GMT - Oxford Nanopore Technologies' full-year print spurred a surprisingly negative market reaction, which didn't correlate with the results and recent performance, Berenberg analysts Odysseas Manesiotis and Sam England write in a research note. "Despite an underlying sales upgrade for FY23 and adjusted Ebitda coming in GBP2 million ahead of expectations, there was a disproportionate focus on a GBP5 million one-off expense expected in FY23," they say. The DNA-sequencing specialist's shares are trading at a 25% discount to its genomics peers, despite its superior operational performance in the last twelve months and the fact that it has performed better than U.S. peers in regards to revenue growth and gross margin expansion, the analysts say. Berenberg keeps a buy rating on the stock and a 529-pence price target. (christian.moess@wsj.com)


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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

09-07-23 0313ET