The FTSE 100 closed down 0.9% Friday as mainly disappointing earnings and heightened tensions in the Middle East led to another weekly loss for global stock indices, IG analyst Axel Rudolph says in a note. "Heightened tensions in the Middle East and a plethora of central bank decisions by the likes of the BoJ, Fed and BoE will dominate the calendar next week ahead of Friday's all-important U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls," Rudolph says. NatWest--down 12%--was the session's biggest faller after reporting that 3Q pretax profit and net income missed consensus, followed by Lloyds Banking, down 3.4%, and Weir Group, down 3.1%. Rentokil Initial was the day's biggest riser, up 3.6%.


COMPANIES NEWS:

IAG Beats 3Q Views; Sees 2023 as Strong Year of Recovery

International Consolidated Airlines Group said it beat market expectations for profit in the third quarter, and that it sees 2023 as being a strong year for recovery.

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Safestyle UK Doesn't See Any Shareholder Return From Sale, Trading Suspended

Safestyle UK said Friday that shareholders are unlikely to get any return from a sale of the business and that given its financial situation trading in its shares will be suspended.

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Faron Pharmaceuticals Raises $7.5 Mln via Discounted Share Placing

Faron Pharmaceuticals said it has raised 7.1 million euros ($7.5 million) through a share placing to meet its covenants and accelerate studies of its acute myeloid leukemia drug, bexmarilimab.

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Starvest Plans to Cancel Share Trading and Liquidate; Will Distribute Assets

Starvest said it plans to cancel trading of its shares in London and implement a members' voluntary liquidation, subject to shareholder approval.

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CVS Group Chairman Steps Down Due to Health Reasons

CVS Group said Non-Executive Chairman Richard Connell has resigned with immediate effect due to health reasons.

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NatWest Cuts Guidance After 3Q Miss; Says Review Found Farage Account Closure Lawful

NatWest Group said an investigation into the handling of the accounts of Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage found that it was lawful; and cut its full-year net interest margin guidance, following peer Barclays earlier this week.

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XP Power in Talks With Banks Over Future Covenant Needs; 3Q Revenue Fell

XP Power has reported lower revenue for the third quarter of the year and said it is in talks with banks to amend its future covenant requirements and other near-term actions to boost its balance sheet.

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Altitude Group Sees 1H Revenue, Profit Increase in Line With Views

Altitude Group said it expects first-half revenue and profit to improve on the back of a positive performance on both merchanting and services division.

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FireAngel Safety Technology Agrees to GBP27.7 Mln Cash Takeover

FireAngel Safety Technology said it has agreed to a 27.7 million pound ($33.6 million) all-cash takeover by Siterwell Electronics Co.

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Nostrum Oil & Gas Sees Nine-Month Revenue Drop on Lower Oil Prices

Nostrum Oil & Gas said it expects to report a fall in revenue for the nine months ended Sept. 30 on the back of lower oil prices and production, but backed its full-year targets.

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Digital 9 Infrastructure Shares Rise as it Considers Selling Verne Global

Digital 9 Infrastructure shares rose after the company said that following shareholder consultation, it is assessing a divestment of its entire stake in the Verne Global group of companies for an undisclosed sum.

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Strix Group CFO Raudres Wong Retires; Mark Kirkland Named Interim Replacement

Strix Group said Chief Financial Officer Raudres Wong is retiring after more than 12 years at the company and that it has named Mark Kirkland as interim CFO until a replacement is appointed.

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Global Petroleum Shares Dive on Urgent Funding Needs

Global Petroleum shares fell 37% in early trade after the company said it will need to raise funds via a share placing in the near future in order to meet upcoming payments and continue as a going concern.

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MARKET TALK:

IAG's Strong Results Bode Well for 4Q, Shares

0956 GMT - International Consolidated Airlines Group's impressive third quarter is proof of the sector's convincing and swift postpandemic recovery, eToro analyst Adam Vettese says in a note. The company is currently operating at nearly 96% of prepandemic capacity, driven by a significant uplift in leisure travel Vettese says. Moreover, profitability has been significantly boosted by rising passenger revenue and a sizeable decrease in fuel costs, allowing it to strengthen its balance sheet as net debt fell over the past year, he says. "Another strong quarter is expected in 4Q which means we may see the company's share price continue to ascend as we head towards year-end," he says. Shares are down 2.2% at 139.70 pence.(anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)

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NatWest Suffers From Reputational Damage From Farage Account Review

0942 GMT - The review into NatWest's decision to close Nigel Farage's bank account concluded it was lawful, but it still doesn't make for comfortable reading, CMC Markets UK's Michael Hewson says in a market comment. The analyst points to the potential regulatory breaches, in governance, systems and controls flagged in the independent report, which the Financial Conduct Authority said it is also reviewing. The fallout included the exit of CEO Alison Rose after she discussed the bank's relationship with Farage with a journalist. "From a reputational standpoint this is hugely damaging, and even accounting for the increased competition for customer deposits the revelations of unprofessionalism this week about some of its staff could prompt some customers to take their business elsewhere," he writes. Shares are down 11%. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)

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UK Banks Drop After NatWest's FY Interest-Margin Cut

0912 GMT - U.K.-listed banks fall after NatWest Group cut its full-year net interest-margin guidance. Competition for savings and mortgage products, coupled with some regulatory pressure, mean banks are no longer seeing such a big gap between what they charge on borrowings compared with what they pay out for deposits, AJ Bell says. "While bad debts remain under control for now, the market is clearly wary of a deterioration here as the pressures on households and businesses continue to mount," Bell's investment director Russ Mould writes. NatWest is the FTSE 100's biggest faller, down 9%, while Lloyds Banking Group retreats 1.7% and Barclays--which itself cut full-year net interest-margin guidance for its U.K. division earlier this week--backtracks 0.8%. (philip.waller@wsj.com)

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Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; Dow Jones Newswires; paul.larkins@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-27-23 1236ET