UKX FTSE 100 Index

London Stocks Seen Opening Higher, Recovering After Sharp Losses

The FTSE 100 is expected to open around 55 points higher, according to IG, rebounding after hefty losses Monday, when concerns about troubles at Chinese property giant Evergrande saw the index close at a two-month low of 6903.91. Worries about high inflation and slowing growth continue to linger, but for now equities should recover after such big losses. "The losses...have been contained, and with that European markets look set to open modestly higher this morning, with U.S. futures also rebounding. Concerns about Evergrande remain but for now there appears to be a wait and see approach being adopted," says CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson. A few individual stocks will be in focus after earnings updates, including Kingfisher, Travis Perkins and Compass Group.

 
Companies News: 

Travis Perkins to Return GBP179 Mln to Shareholders via Buyback, Special Dividend

Travis Perkins PLC is launching a 100 million pound ($136.6 million) share buyback and a GBP79 million special dividend, after the sale of its Plumbing & Heating distribution business, it said Tuesday.

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Kingfisher's 1H Adjusted Pretax Profit Came in Ahead of Market Views

Kingfisher PLC on Tuesday reported a significant rise in pretax profit and adjusted pretax profit for the first half of fiscal 2022 and said that its outlook for the full year has improved.

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Stagecoach Is in Merger Talks With National Express Group

U.K. transportation group Stagecoach Group PLC said Tuesday that it is in talks for an all-share takeover by peer National Express Group PLC that will give its shareholders about 25% of the combined group if the deal proceeds.

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Compass Group Says 4Q Underlying Revenue to Be 86% of FY 2019's

Compass Group PLC said Tuesday that it expects fourth-quarter underlying revenue on a constant currency basis to improve to 86% of 2019 revenue, and for it to be slightly ahead of the previous guidance range of 80% to 85%.

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Blackstone's BioMed to Invest $1.2 Bln in New UK Labs

U.S. real-estate investment company BioMed Realty said Tuesday that it plans to significantly increase its laboratory space in the U.K. after acquiring two sites in the city of Cambridge.

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PensionBee Group 1H Pretax Loss Widened

PensionBee Group PLC on Tuesday reported a significantly widened pretax loss for the first half of 2021 and said that its performance for the period was in line with management expectations.

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Dignity Swung to 1H Profit on Financial Remeasurements

Dignity PLC on Tuesday reported a profit for the first half of the fiscal year, but its underlying earnings declined as deaths fell on year.

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Knights Group Says Strong Performance Continues into FY 2022

Knights Group Holdings PLC said Tuesday that its performance continues to be strong and in line with expectations following the end of fiscal year 2021 on April 30.

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Aegon to Appeal Hungarian Court Decision to Block Acquisition by Vienna Insurance Group

Aegon NV said Tuesday that it will appeal a decision made by the Budapest Metropolitan Court to block the acquisition of its Hungarian business by Vienna Insurance Group AG.

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Caerus Mineral Resources to Raise GBP1.5 Mln to Fund Project Development

Caerus Mineral Resources PLC said Tuesday that it is raising 1.5 million pounds ($2 million) via a share placing and subscription and will use the money to fund project development.

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; Write to Sarka Halas at sarka.halas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 21, 2021 03:06 ET (07:06 GMT)

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