UKX FTSE 100 Index

FTSE 100 Drops as Oil, Mining, Financial Stocks Fall

0930 GMT - The FTSE 100 Index drops 0.8%, or 57 points, to 7497, dragged down by oil, mining and financial stocks. Shell and BP are more than 1% lower as the price of Brent crude trades broadly flat around $88.30 a barrel. Fresnillo and Polymetal International fall as gold and silver prices retreat. Meanwhile, Barclays, Prudential, Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Standard Chartered are among the biggest losers in the financial sector. "Mixed corporate earnings are not helping to lift sentiment," says Richard Hunter, head of markets at interactive investor. "The impact of the Omicron variant, such as it is, will not wash through fully until the first quarter earnings of 2022 become available." (philip.waller@wsj.com)

 
Companies News: 

Abrdn Raises GBP264 Mln From Sale of Part of Phoenix Group Stake

Abrdn PLC said Friday that it has sold 40 million shares in Phoenix Group Holdings PLC to institutional investors, raising proceeds of around 264 million pounds ($353.3 million).

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Amigo Holdings Appoints Danny Malone as Interim CFO

Amigo Holdings PLC said Friday that it has appointed Danny Malone as chief financial officer on an interim basis.

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Character Group to Return GBP13.5 Mln to Shareholders in Tender Offer

Character Group PLC said Friday that it intends to return around 13.5 million pounds ($18.1 million) to shareholders through a tender offer and repurchase of shares.

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Capita PLC to Sell Trustmarque for GBP115 Mln

Capita PLC said Friday that it has agreed to sell its Trustmarque IT services business to One Equity Partners for 111 million pounds ($148.6 million).

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Avon Protection Launches Buyback Program of up to GBP18.5 Mln

Avon Protection PLC said Friday that it was launching a share buyback program of up to 18.5 million pounds ($24.8 million), and that organic revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2022 was ahead of the year-prior period.

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Paragon Banking Group 1Q Performance in Line With Expectations

Paragon Banking Group PLC said Friday that performance in the first quarter of fiscal 2022 has been strong and in line with the board's expectations.

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Chill Brands 1H 2022 Revenue Soared

Chill Brands Group PLC said Friday that revenue for the first half of fiscal 2022 rose significantly.

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YouGov Expects FY 2022 to Beat Views After Good First Half

YouGov PLC said Friday that it expects fiscal 2022 results to be slightly ahead of the board's expectations after experiencing growth across all divisions and geographies in the first half.

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Trackwise Sees 2021 Loss Widening, Revenue Rising; Names CFO Designate

Trackwise Designs PLC said Friday that it expects its 2021 adjusted operating loss to widen and revenue to rise, and named Paul Cook as its chief financial officer designate.

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BrandShield to Raise GBP1.5 Mln in Share Placing

BrandShield Systems PLC said Friday that it intends to raise 1.5 million pounds ($2 million) through a share placing to institutional investors.

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Surface Transforms Sees 2021 Revenue Increase

Surface Transforms PLC said Friday that it expects to report a 20% increase in revenue for 2021.

 
Market Talk: 

Paragon Banking's Buy-To-Let Pipeline Makes for a Positive Outlook

0917 GMT - The outlook for Paragon Banking Group is positive given its buy-to-let pipeline is in excess of GBP1 billion and the company benefits from stable growth, high credit quality and structural net interest margin expansion, Jefferies says. "Credit performance and arrears remain stable, which may bode well for the update to economic scenarios and overlays to the expected credit loss modeling and provisions which will be done at the interim results," the U.S. bank says as it highlights the strength of capital and funding. Jefferies has a buy rating on the stock with a target price of 650 pence. (kyle.morris@dowjones.com)

Avon Protection Set for Upgrades on the Back of Share Buyback Program

0910 GMT - Avon Protection's share buyback program should be earnings enhancing and positions the company to retain a very healthy balance sheet at year-end, Jefferies says. With no major M&A activity expected in the year for the manufacturer of gas masks, helmets and body armor, and given its strong financial position, the program of up to GBP18.5 million is an understandable move and won't come as a surprise to seasoned Avon watchers, Jefferies says. "On the back of the share buy-back, we would expect low single digit EPS upgrades in the current year, with mid single digit upgrades in fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2024," the U.S. bank says. Jefferies rates the stock buy and has a 1,048 pence target price. (anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 28, 2022 04:52 ET (09:52 GMT)

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