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FTSE 100 Drops as Credit Suisse Fallout Hits Financials

FTSE 100 Drops as Banks Fall After Credit Suisse Rescue

0940 GMT - The FTSE 100 Index drops 0.7%, or 49 points to 7286 as banks and financial stocks fall following news that Swiss bank UBS is set to take over troubled rival Credit Suisse. Barclays, Prudential, Standard Chartered, NatWest and HSBC are the sector's biggest fallers, while other banks, insurers and fund managers also lose ground. Meanwhile, BP, Shell and Harbour Energy retreat as the price of Brent crude backtracks 2% to $71.55 a barrel. "Banks were significantly weaker across the board, suggesting the scale of investor concerns within the global banking environment has yet to find a bottom," Interactive Investor's head of markets, Richard Hunter, writes. (philip.waller@wsj.com)

 
Companies News: 

Intertek Group Names Colm Deasy as New Chief Financial Officer

Intertek Group PLC said Monday that it has appointed Colm Deasy as group chief financial officer, replacing Jonathan Timmis who has stepped down with immediate effect.

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Egdon Resources to Report Rise in 1H Revenue; Production Ahead of Guidance

Egdon Resources PLC said Monday that it expects to report a rise in revenue for the first half of fiscal 2023 and that production in the period was ahead of guidance for the year.

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Ten Lifestyle Sees 49% Rise in 1H Revenue on Record Number of Active Members

Ten Lifestyle Group PLC said Monday that it expects revenue and earnings to rise significantly in the second half of fiscal 2023 thanks to contract developments and a record number of active members.

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Dialight Appoints Neil Johnson as Nonexecutive Chairman

Dialight PLC said Monday that it has appointed Neil Johnson as nonexecutive chairman with effect from May 17, replacing David Thomas who will step down from the role at the annual general meeting.

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SolGold Names Chris Stackhouse as New CFO; Interim CEO Named to Role Permanently

SolGold PLC said Monday that it has appointed Chris Stackhouse as incoming chief financial officer, and named interim Chief Executive Officer Scott Caldwell to the role on a permanent basis.

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Corcel 1H Pretax Loss Widened

Corcel PLC said Monday that its pretax loss widened in the first half of fiscal 2023, and that the company continues to broaden its strategy to include oil and gas assets.

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Andrada Mining 4Q, FY 2023 Tin Production Significantly Rose

Andrada Mining Ltd. said Monday that tin production rose in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, bringing full-year production up significantly on year.

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Spectra Systems 2022 Pretax Profit Rose on Increased Demand; Lifts Dividend

Spectra Systems Corp said Monday that its pretax profit rose in 2022, driven by strong demand for materials from an existing central-bank customer, and lifted its dividend.

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Bigblu Broadband FY 2022 Pretax Loss Widens on Higher Costs

Bigblu Broadband PLC on Monday reported a slightly widened pretax loss for fiscal 2022 on higher costs of sales and despite revenue rising due to particularly strong growth in the Australasia region.

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Shawbrook to Buy Bluestone Mortgages

Shawbrook Group PLC said Monday that it will acquire the specialist mortgage lender Bluestone Mortgages Ltd. for an undisclosed sum as the group expects significant long-term growth in the sector.

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UK Water Regulator Gains Powers to Block Dividend Payments

The U.K. water regulator said Monday that it has new powers to stop water companies from paying dividends if their financial resilience is at risk.

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Agriterra Raises GBP200,000 Via Placing

Agriterra Ltd. on Monday said it raised 200,000 pounds ($243,580) through the placing of shares which will be used to buy an extra 1,500 cattle for its Mozbife division and provide additional working capital to support other growth initiatives.

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Nostrum Oil & Gas Sees 2023 Production Fall

Nostrum Oil & Gas PLC said Monday that it expects 2023 average daily production to slow.

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Jubilee Metals 1H Pretax Profit Halved on Falling Metal Prices; Confirms 2023 Outlook

Jubilee Metals Group PLC said Monday that pretax profit more than halved in the first half of fiscal 2023 as metal prices fell on year, and confirmed its full-year 2023 guidance.

 
Market Talk: 

RS Group's New CEO Could Boost M&A, But Headwinds Remain

0947 GMT - RS Group recently appointed Simon Pryce as chief executive officer, which as well as providing strategic continuity should add a more aggressive approach to acquisitions, Jefferies analysts Kean Marden and Allen Wells says in a note. Over the next few years, the industrial and electronics products distributor has the potential to spend up to GBP1 billion on mergers and acquisitions, which would be 6%-15% accretive to earnings per share, they say. However, Jefferies's 2% revenue growth forecast for the fourth quarter is slightly below consensus, the analysts note. Rebranding and management change has affected performance in North America, they say, adding that mixed macro indicators in Europe and the fading of inflation tailwinds could also weigh on growth. (don.forbes@wsj.com)

UK Water Regulator's New Dividend-Blocking Powers Unlikely to Hurt Listed Companies

0937 GMT - U.K. regulator Ofwat's new powers will enable it to stop water companies paying dividends if it means risking the company's financial resilience and take enforcement action against those that don't link dividend payments to performance, RBC Capital Market says. Ofwat continues to push for stronger management of U.K. water companies, with the criticism primarily aimed at those non-listed companies in the space where leverage and dividends have been a key point of issue, RBC analysts say in a research note. "We do not expect these changes to have a material impact on the listed names," the Canadian bank says. Shares in United Utilities, Severn Trent and Pennon Group are up 2.6%, 2.3% and 1.8%, respectively. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)

UK Water Regulator's New Dividend-Blocking Powers Unlikely to Hurt Listed Companies

0937 GMT - U.K. regulator Ofwat's new powers will enable it to stop water companies paying dividends if it means risking the company's financial resilience and take enforcement action against those that don't link dividend payments to performance, RBC Capital Market says. Ofwat continues to push for stronger management of U.K. water companies, with the criticism primarily aimed at those non-listed companies in the space where leverage and dividends have been a key point of issue, RBC analysts say in a research note. "We do not expect these changes to have a material impact on the listed names," the Canadian bank says. Shares in United Utilities, Severn Trent and Pennon Group are up 2.6%, 2.3% and 1.8%, respectively. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)

Rainbow Rare Earths South Africa Project Update Seen as Positive

0935 GMT - Rainbow Rare Earths' South Africa project update is encouraging, Berenberg analysts Richard Hatch and Charlie Rothbarth say in a note. Management's decision to separate the pilot's front and back end will allow for a faster design and production of separated rare earth oxides, enabling offtake discussions to also progress faster, the analysts say. "The increased confidence in the resource is also positive and we think that upside exists here," the analysts say. Berenberg rates the stock buy and has a 32 pence target price. Shares are down 2.6% at 9.25 pence. (anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)

March UK House Prices Indicate Some Recovery But Uncertainty Remains

0923 GMT - U.K. house prices rose 0.8% in March, rebounding from February's weakness but below the 20-year average of 1% according to Rightmove data, Interactive Investor head of investment Victoria Scholar says in a comment. The data echoes recent figures from Halifax, suggesting incipient signs of recovery in the U.K. housing market, Scholar says. "With the U.K. managing so far to narrowly stave off a technical recession, mortgage rates normalizing, and other economic data points improving, housing market activity has started to pick up," she says. However, the Office for Budget Responsibility predicts house prices will fall 10% from 2022's high, suggesting the market isn't out of the woods yet, Scholar says. Barratt Developments, Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey are down 1.6%, 1.4% and 1.3%, respectively. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)

UK, Irish Banks Look Well-Placed to Cope With Sector Turmoil

0923 GMT - The strong capital and liquidity positions of Irish and U.K. banks are in focus after the UBS/Credit Suisse deal, Goodbody says in a note, adding that perhaps a crisis was needed before equity markets gave them full credit. "Higher funding costs potentially for the sector now - and, given a possible greater role for equity (whether at regulators' behest or not) - read like negative credit and equity events to us, outweighing the stability conferred by the 'rescue' of CS," analysts John Cronin and Ronan Dunphy say, adding that broader fears from deep stresses in certain parts of the banking sector will likely continue to weigh on investor confidence. U.K. and Irish banks remain well-positioned to cope with any shocks to the system, the Irish brokerage says. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)

Marks & Spencer's Better-Than-Feared Backdrop Lifts Profit Views

0917 GMT - Marks & Spencer's performance for fiscal 2023 and 2024 could be better than feared given its cautious estimates amid an uncertain backdrop while secondary data shows signs of trading improvement, Shore Capital analysts Clive Black and Darren Shirley say in a note. The U.K. retailer's fiscal 2023 adjusted pretax profit is expected to come in at GBP431 million, an increase greater than 6% from Shore's previous estimate, while for fiscal 2024 it is expected to be GBP415 million, an update greater than 30%, they say. Marks & Spencer could benefit from the somewhat eased cost headwinds, subdued unemployment and consumer confidence lift, they add. (michael.susin@wsj.com)

 

Contact: London NewsPlus; paul.larkins@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 20, 2023 06:14 ET (10:14 GMT)

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