The FTSE 100 closed up 0.07% ahead of Wednesday's U.K. spring budget announcement and Thursday's European Central Bank policy decision as gold and cryptocurrency hit records highs. "The rally in both the precious metal and cryptocurrency, which kicked off last week when Fed Governor Waller talked of a strategy shift toward reducing central bank's mortgage-backed securities holdings to zero, gathered momentum as investors bought gold and U.S.-listed Bitcoin ETFs," IG analyst Axel Rudolph said in a note. The day's biggest risers were Intertek--which reported a rise in pretax profit and strong revenue growth--up 6.15%, Endeavour Mining, up 4.2%, and Marks & Spencer, up 3.8%. The session's biggest fallers were Ashtead--which reported a worse-than-expected pretax profit fall for its fiscal third quarter and narrowed guidance--RS Group and Antofagasta, down 9.4%, 3.5% and 3.3% respectively.


COMPANIES NEWS:

IWG Posts Slightly Wider Pretax Loss; Resumes Dividend Payment

IWG reported a slightly larger pretax loss for 2023 despite higher revenues and restarted paying out dividends.

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Travis Perkins Mulls Toolstation France Exit, Benelux Options

Travis Perkins said it is considering exiting Toolstation France and working on options for Toolstation Benelux after pretax profit slumped amid weak market conditions.

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STV Group's CEO Simon Pitts to Step Down Over Next 12 Months

STV Group said Chief Executive Officer Simon Pitts will step down from his role over the next 12 months to take up a new role beginning in the first quarter of 2025.

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Johnson Service Group Profit Rises on Surging Revenue from Hotel, Restaurant and Catering Unit

Johnson Service Group raised its dividend payout after full-year pretax profit rose, partly thanks to higher volumes from the hotel, restaurant and catering segment.

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Foxtons Profit Falls on One-Off Costs, Backs Midterm Views

Foxtons Group said pretax profit fell, dragged by higher operating costs and the integration of estate agent Ludlow Thompson, and backed its medium-term targets.

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Intertek Group Pretax Profit Rose on Higher Market Demand

Intertek Group reported a higher pretax profit for 2023 with strong revenue growth due to higher demand for its testing and certification solutions, and said that it remained confident in continued momentum for 2024.

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Greggs Backs Midterm Views After Profit Rise

Greggs reported an increase in 2023 pretax profit, driven by a record performance, and backed its midterm growth targets as it expects another year of progress.

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Spirent Communications Agrees to GBP1 Bln Takeover by Viavi Solutions

Spirent Communications said that it has agreed to a 1.005 billion pound ($1.28 billion) takeover by Viavi Solutions Acquisitions, a subsidiary of Viavi Solutions Inc.

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Inchcape Profit Soars But Expects Moderate Growth Ahead

Inchcape said its pretax profit surged on a strong performance across regions but flagged moderate growth this year due to weakness in certain markets.

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Bakkavor Expects Higher Adjusted Operating Profit in 2024

Bakkavor Group expects its adjusted operating profit to rise in 2024 after beating views for 2023.

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Hochschild Mining Gets Option to Buy Brazil Gold Project

Hochschild Mining's Brazilian subsidiary entered agreements granting it the option to buy Cerrado Gold's Monte Do Carmo Project.

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Fresnillo's Profit Plummets as Rising Costs Eclipse Higher Prices Boosting Revenue

Fresnillo's profit slumped on higher costs despite stronger gold and silver prices driving revenue up.

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SIG Swings to Pretax Loss on Higher Costs

SIG PLC reported a swing to pretax loss in 2023 driven by higher operating expenses and a challenging market backdrop.

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Time Out Group Loss Narrows on Strong Market Business Performance

Time Out Group's first half-year pretax loss narrowed thanks to soaring earnings from its market business.

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STV Group Hurt by Lower Advertising Revenue, Costs

STV Group has reported a decline in its key profit metric--reflecting lower advertising revenue and higher costs--and set out a new three-year plan to drive growth.

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Reach Share Rise After Company Backs Outlook, Cost-Cutting Target

Reach shares rose 12% in early trade after the company said that it is on track to meet its full-year outlook and cost-cutting targets despite the uncertain macroeconomic environment and as it reported lower earnings for last year.

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Spirent Communications Agrees to GBP1 Bln Takeover by Viavi Solutions -- Update

Spirent Communications has agreed to a 1.005 billion pound ($1.28 billion) takeover by Viavi Solutions Acquisitions, a subsidiary of Viavi Solutions Inc.


MARKET TALK:

Hiscox Strong Results, Added Prudence Cheered

0942 GMT - Hiscox's strong results should please investors, UBS analysts say in a note after the specialist insurer posted 2023 earnings with pretax profit above expectations. "We believe these results have been delivered at the same time as building greater reserve prudence, allowing greater confidence on forward earnings trajectory," analysts write, noting that the results could have been even stronger. Greater earnings and solvency seemed to have enabled the surprise $150 million share buyback, they add. Shares in the FTSE 250 company rise 3.2% to 1,157 pence, their highest price in over eight months. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)

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U.K. March 2027 Gilt Appears Over-Priced, Tuesday's Auction Likely to Go Well

0940 GMT - The U.K. Debt Management Office's sale of GBP3.75 billion in 3.75% March 2027 gilt is expected to go well even as the bond appears over-valued in micro-relative value terms, RBC Capital Markets analysts say in a note. "The [3.75% March 2027 gilt] is currently trading towards its richest levels to date and around 0.75 basis points richer versus the time of its February tap," RBC says. "Whilst we don't particularly like owning the bond on micro-relative value structure or on asset swaps, we do like owning the sector via U.K. 5 years, 30 years curve steepeners." (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)


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


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-05-24 1302ET