Upstream Share Discussion Threads

[master rsi] 12/4/2024 14:48

DOW

Opening lower with 203 points down

[master rsi] 12/4/2024 14:35

Bens Creek shares fall as it moves mine into care and maintenance
(Sharecast News) - Shares in North American metallurgical coal miner Bens Creek were sliding on Friday afternoon, after the company issued an update on its operations and working capital position, confirming that its West Virginia mine was moving into care and maintenance.

The AIM-traded firm said that in response to the current state of the metallurgical coal market, financial constraints within the company, and operational challenges at its mine, its board had made a number of key decisions on 9 and 10 April.

As a result, Bens Creek Operations WV (BC Operations), a wholly-owned subsidiary, had significantly reduced operations.

That decision led to the lay-off of 44 employees, a substantial portion of the mine's workforce in West Virginia.

Additionally, from 11 April, the mine would operate on a care and maintenance basis for the foreseeable future.

Avani Resources, the company's largest shareholder, primary off-take partner and lender, was currently engaged in discussions with Bens Creek regarding the terms of providing additional financial support.

The company said a term sheet outlining the terms was under review by the company's legal counsel.

Any potential agreement with Avani could constitute a related party transaction under the AIM rules, the board noted.

"The company continues to assess all options available to it and will make further announcements at the appropriate time," the board said in its statement.

At 1359 BST, shares in Bens Creek Group were down 23.53% at 0.65p.

[master rsi] 12/4/2024 12:44

How the UPS are performing during last month

[master rsi] 12/4/2024 12:29

How the UPS are performing today

[apotheki] 12/4/2024 12:20

First Equity

Nara Gold Project Magnetic Survey Completed

Kavango Resources plc (KAV.L) announced this morning it has completed a ground magnetics survey over its Nara Gold project in Zimbabwe. From this work, a 200-metre-wide interpreted shear corridor along a 5km strike has been defined and a number of additional exploration targets identified. Such shear zones are typically associated with large-scale bulk mineable gold deposits. The management also explained why it has been confident enough to upgrade its goal to find 2 million ounces of gold at Nara.

The RNS outlined some of the potential near term news events from its gold exploration projects in Zimbabwe, such as the multi-element test results later this quarter from 1,400 metres of drilling at Hillside and an update and results from first phase drilling at Nara. The full RNS can be accessed via the button link below.


FE Comment: Kavango seems to be making swift progress on its gold exploration and mining projects in Zimbabwe, where it has only been operational for the last 10 months. This has included the definition of a maiden gold resource and commencement of first gold production at Hillside as revealed last month.

The share price has been moving slowly higher in the past two or three weeks from near its all-time lows and is now breaking above 1.00p. This is the price at which Kavango secured £6m in a placing last year to finance its Botswana and Zimbabwe operations. Considering the improving fundamentals, recent new gold generated cash flow operations, sound balance sheet and prospect of near-term exploration and development news flow in the coming months, we continue to recommend the shares as a ‘Buy’ and believe the Company should warrant a much higher valuation than its current £13.7m market cap.

[apotheki] 12/4/2024 12:16

SP Angel . Morning View . Gold jumps again, climbing to $2,400/oz as Chinese buying continues

Kavango Resources* (KAV LN) 1p, Mkt Cap £14m – Ground magnetic survey completed at Nara as drill results forthcoming

· Kavango Resources provides an update from its exploration programme at its Nara Gold Project, Zimbabwe.

· The Company reports it has completed its ground magnetic survey over 85km of lines.

· This was intended to identify geological structures bearing association with gold mineralisation.

· Following the survey, Kavango has now identified a 200m wide likely shear corridor over a 5km strike, with several magnetic lows.

· The target zone hosts artisanal and historic workings, which also bear association with low magnetic lineaments.

· The survey also pointed to unknown magnetic lows running parallel to the historical workings and prospective areas of hydrothermal alteration.

Conclusion: Kavango continues to progress the Nara asset quickly, having acquired the licence package 10 months ago. A rig was mobilised to site in March and drilling results are expected in the coming weeks. The 200m x 5km corridor anomaly is exciting and additional drilling will be completed over the next six weeks.

An share price Angel Analyst holds shares in Kavango

[master rsi] 12/4/2024 10:55

Petrofac Ltd, down 29% at 23.71p, 12-month range 14.58p-87.50p.

The energy infrastructure company says it is engaged in discussions in regard to restructuring its debt, with "all options" remaining under consideration. Petrofac says its discussions revolve around restructuring debt in a way that would result in a significant proportion of the debt being exchanged for a stake in the company.

Further, it is in talks with prospective investors and major shareholders for a potential investment in the company, including a potential sale of non-core assets.

In December, the company announced that its year-end debt is expected to be modestly higher than the debt of USD584 million it had posted for the end of June, citing an increase of over USD100 million in collateral for guarantees.

Petrofac says on Friday: "Management and the board are focussed on managing the group's payment obligations and delivering a solution which supports the provision of guarantees required for its recent contract awards, and which ensures that Petrofac has the appropriate capital structure and liquidity to support the strength of its USD8 billion backlog."

[master rsi] 12/4/2024 10:24

AIM WINNERS & LOSERS: Bens Creek falls as it lays off workers

AIM - WINNERS

Huddled Group PLC, up 2.3% at 2.66 pence, 12-month range 2.00p-4.75p. The investor says it will acquire Food Circle Supermarket Ltd for up to GBP300,000. It says that the acquisition will comprise the entire stock, intellectual property, website and other social channels of Food Circle. Food Circle is an online retailer based in Dinnington, South Yorkshire. In 2023, it delivered revenue of around GBP1.4 million. Huddled Chief Executive Officer Martin Higginson says: "Food Circle is positioned at the intersection of a number of market trends; the continued search for value among consumers, the demand for e-commerce and direct delivery services, and the growth in health and nutrition products to support active lifestyles. It has developed important relationships with brands for whom responsible disposal of surplus stocks remains a priority, and this will remain a core mission for Food Circle."

AIM - LOSERS

Bens Creek Group PLC, down 28% at 0.61p, 12-month range 0.35p-21.79p. Bens Creek plummets, after it reports that it has laid off 44 Bens Creek Operations WV LLC employees. The owner and operator of metallurgical coal mines across North America said that the move is due to "the depressed metallurgical coal price", as well as "financial constraints at the company and production difficulties", at its mining project in West Virginia. Bens Creek adds that the mine will be operated on a care and maintenance basis for the time being.

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Tern PLC, down 23% at 2.64p, 12-month range 1.60p-11.00p. The 'internet of things' technology investor raises GBP420,000 via placing 17.5 million shares at 2.4 pence each. The placing price represents a 31% discount to the company's closing price of 3.48p on Thursday. Tern will use the funds to invest in Wyld Networks AB and to invest in at least one more company, as well as for general corporate purposes.

[master rsi] 12/4/2024 09:35

MARKET REPORT
LONDON MARKET OPEN: Stocks get boost thanks to growth in UK economy

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened higher on Friday, thanks to new data suggesting the UK economy is out of recession.

Eyes are also on the banking earnings season, which kicks off on Friday. Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo are due to release first-quarter numbers. Asset manager BlackRock also reports.

The FTSE 100 index opened up 61.11 points, 0.8%, at 7,984.91. The FTSE 250 was up 130.77 points, 0.7%, at 19,917.64, and the AIM All-Share was up 2.98 points, 0.4%, at 761.81.

The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.9% at 799.30, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.6% at 17,323.82, and the Cboe Small Companies was up slightly at 14,776.24.

In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt were both up 0.9%.

The UK economy grew in line with expectations in February, according to numbers on Friday.

According to the Office for National Statistics, UK gross domestic product rose by 0.1% in February from January, in line with FXStreet cited consensus. UK GDP had expanded 0.3% on-month in January, according to upwardly revised data.

"Positive UK GDP growth in February, coming together with an upgrade to the January estimate, will do nothing to reassure markets that interest rate cuts are locked in for the first half of this year," said Nicholas Hyett, analyst at Wealth Club.

"Having said that, areas of the economy that are dependent on discretionary spending do look kind of soggy. Accommodation and food and drink services both contracted in February and the construction sector is in the doldrums (with eight out of nine sectors seeing a decrease month-on-month). There are suggestions wet weather may have played a part here, but an interest rate cut could be quite helpful to those areas of the economy nonetheless."

All eyes this week have been on interest rate decisions and when we might see some rate cuts.

The European Central Bank remains on course to lower interest rates at its June meeting. The ECB left its key interest rates unchanged, as widely expected, but policymakers said they will cut rates should they gain confidence that inflation is falling to the bank's 2% target.

ECB President Christine Lagarde again affirmed a "data dependent" approach to interest rate decisions, but did add that some in the Governing Council already have the confidence to cut.

On the other hand, hopes of a June rate cut in the US have been dampened thanks to some hotter-than-expected inflation data.

On Wednesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the year-on-year rate of consumer price inflation picked up to 3.5% last month, from 3.2% in February, taking it further above the Fed's 2% inflation target.

The rate of consumer price inflation had been expected to pick up to just 3.4%, according to FXStreet cited consensus. The rate of inflation is now at its most lofty since September.

Thursday's US producer price data was less robust, but did pick up. US producer price growth accelerated to 2.1% year-on-year in March, from 1.6% in February.

In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average little changed, the S&P 500 up 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite up 1.7%.

The pound was quoted at USD1.2512 early on Friday in London, virtually unchanged compared to USD1.2513 at the equities close on Thursday. The euro stood at USD1.0680, lower against USD1.0705. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY153.26, lower compared to JPY153.30.

The FTSE 100 on Friday got a boost from housebuilders. Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon and Barratt Developments were up 2.7%, 2.5% and 2.2%, respectively.

The shares all got a boost thanks to some broker upgrades.

JPMorgan raised all of them to 'overweight' from 'neutral'. RBC also raised Taylor Wimpey to 'outperform'.

Oil majors BP and Shell also traded higher on Friday, driven by higher oil prices. They were up 2.1% and 1.6%, respectively.

With tensions pushing ahead in the Middle East and price of oil headed over the USD90 a barrel mark. Brent oil was quoted at USD90.41 a barrel early in London on Friday from USD89.94 late Thursday.

Amongst London's small-caps, Petrofac lost 25%.

The energy infrastructure company said it has "engaged and remains in discussions" with its lenders to restructure its debt which would result in a significant proportion of the debt being exchanged for equity in the business. It noted that all options remained under consideration.

The company also continues to be in discussion with investors and shareholders in relation to potential further investment into Petrofac.

"Management and the board are focussed on managing the group’s payment obligations and delivering a solution which supports the provision of guarantees required for its recent contract awards, and which ensures that Petrofac has the appropriate capital structure and liquidity to support the strength of its USD8 billion backlog," it added.

On AIM, Bens Creek plummeted 45%.

The owner and operator of metallurgical coal mines said it has laid off 44 employees.

It said that the move is due to "the depressed metallurgical coal price, combined with financial constraints at the Company and production difficulties at the mine, to substantially reduce activity at Bens Creek Operations WV."

In Asia on Friday, the Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo was up 0.2%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.5%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was up 2.1%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.3%.

Gold was quoted at USD2,396.60 an ounce, higher against USD2,338.05.

[master rsi] 12/4/2024 09:21

RBC Capital upgrades Taylor Wimpey, downgrades Berkeley

(Sharecast News) - RBC Capital Markets upgraded Taylor Wimpey on Friday but downgraded Berkeley as it took a look at the two UK housebuilders.

Taylor Wimpey was raised to 'outperform' from 'sector perform' with an unchanged price target of 175p.

"Taylor Wimpey has the wind behind its sales, and we like the cut of its jib," RBC said.

"Of the housebuilding majors it is the least distracted by management change, strategic change or potential M&A activity.

"We believe it is reading the weather well: that the weather is improving. With all hands on deck it may be the first to react to improving market conditions and the first of the large caps to meet its medium-term goals."

The bank also said that while volume growth is a story for 2025 and beyond, the dividend is a key part of the story today.

"The shares offer a highly stress tested yield of 5.4%, and with interest rates likely to fall this year we would advise those looking for income tomorrow to lock in this yield today."

RBC downgraded Berkeley Group to 'underperform' from 'sector perform', keeping the price target at 4,950p.

It said Berkeley Group is the classic flight to safety stock, "with a forward orderbook other housebuilders can only dream of" and homebuyers less sensitive to mortgage availability and mortgage rates.

"However, we believe that the housing market is on the turn, and with sales largely locked in for FY2024, FY2025 and FY2026, others are likely to benefit more from the improving market than Berkeley.

"Therefore, we believe that investors will be setting their flight paths to 'sizzle' rather than 'safety' and on a sector relative basis we are downgrading Berkeley Group to underperform."

[master rsi] 12/4/2024 08:57

German inflation falls to lowest level since 2021

(Sharecast News) - German inflation fell in March, matching the lowest level since mid-2021, according to secondary estimates released on Friday by the Federal Statistical Office, Destatis.

The harmonised index of consumer prices rose at a year-on-year rate of 2.3% last month, in line with the preliminary estimate and analysts' estimates.

This was down from 2.7% in February and 3.1% in January, matching the same level as November, which was the lowest reading seen since June 2021.

The drop in the harmonised inflation rate - which uses the same methodology as other EU countries to ensure fair comparisons between member states - was the result of a 2.7% year-on-year fall in energy prices and a 0.7% decline in food.

In fact, March marked the first time since February 2015 that foods prices were lower than the corresponding month of the previous year, Destatis said.

Core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, was confirmed at 3.3% in March, easing from 3.4% in February.

[master rsi] 12/4/2024 08:32

FTSE

UP with 67 points .........

London stocks rose in early trade on Friday as the latest GDP data suggested the UK recession had ended.

According to figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics, GDP grew 0.1% in February following 0.3% growth the month before, in line with consensus expectations. January's figure was revised up from a previous estimate of 0.2%. growth.

[apotheki] 12/4/2024 07:40

Altona Rare Earths [LSE:REE] - in the right space and at the right time



SP Angel . Morning View

The Sesana project is located on the eastern edge of the Kalahari Copper Belt approximately 25km from “the producing Khoemacau underground copper-silver mine” and “next to Galileo Resources licence PL039/2018 and near ARC Minerals licence PL135/2017 (Virgo Copper-Silver Project), where a 3km long soil anomaly associated to the D'Kar / Ngwako Pan formations contact has been recently identified”.

Existing deposits in the Kalahari Copper Belt are usually found at the geological contact between the D’Kar Formation and the underlying Ngwako Pan Formation and today’s announcement describes a “regional airborne magnetic data … [which] … shows … a ca. 10km long stretch of the contact between the D'Kar and Ngwako Pan formations contact is passing through the northern part of the Tenement, along the eastern margin of a fold structure, which makes it a perfect setting for copper-silver mineralisation”;.

“Initial exploration work will include a combination of geochemical and geophysical exploration methods … [including] … Soil sampling associated to ionic leach assays is particularly suitable for the KCB context … [and a] … Detailed magnetometer survey will allow a detailed mapping of lithology and structures while induced polarization will allow the direct localisation of disseminated sulphides to allow accurate reconnaissance drilling planning”.

CEO, Cedric Simonet, explained that the “acquisition of the Sesana Project is in line with the implementation of Altona's portfolio diversification strategy”.

Conclusion: Altona Mining is joining the increasing exploration interest in Botswana’s Kalahari Copper Belt. We await news as exploration of the Sesana project proceeds.

[apotheki] 12/4/2024 07:30

KAVANGO RESOURCES PLC / LSE:KAV

ZIM: Nara Project Ground Magnetic Survey Completed

Kavango Resources plc (LSE:KAV), the Southern Africa focussed metals exploration company, is pleased to announce the completion of a ground magnetic survey over the Nara Gold Project in Southern Zimbabwe.

Highlights

· A total of 85km of ground magnetic survey lines were completed over the project area (the "Survey").

· The objective of the Survey was to identify geological structures and contacts that may be associated with gold mineralisation.

· The Survey has defined a 200m wide interpreted shear corridor along 5km of strike within the property, hosting a number of magnetic low lineaments interpreted as shear zones.

o Shear zones are commonly associated with gold mineralisation. This corridor provides a prospective zone for follow up.

o Historical and artisanal gold mine workings are located within the shear corridor and are closely related to magnetic low lineaments.

· The magnetic survey has identified a number of additional exploration targets including:

o Several previously unknown magnetic low lineaments parallel to the historical workings.

o Areas of magnetic disturbance possibly representing hydrothermal alteration of magnetic rocks which may be related to gold mineralisation.

o Jogs and flexures along the interpreted shear zone within the claims.

Ben Turney, Chief Executive of Kavango Resources, commented:

"Kavango's exploration for large-scale, bulk-minable gold deposits in Zimbabwe is moving at pace. The progress we are making at the Nara Project illustrates how well our team is performing in country.

We've been operational in Zimbabwe for only 10 months and in this time have taken great strides forward in exploring our two main projects; Hillside and Nara.

Now that we have the export permit in place for our Hillside cores, we look forward to receiving the multi-element test results later this quarter from the 1,400m of diamond drilling we completed there.

In meantime, we've mobilised the rig to our Nara Project in March and have just completed our fifth diamond hole here. We will provide an update on drilling in the coming weeks but based on visual observations of core we decided to push ahead with a ground magnetic survey of the project area. Our goal was to learn more about the structure we are drill testing.

We recently upgraded our goal at Nara to find 2 million ounces of gold. Today's survey results are particularly encouraging because we appear to have identified a 200m wide shear corridor along 5km of strike. Given this corridor is associated with historic high-grade mining and more contemporary small-scale mining, this suggests this geological structure is associated with gold mineralisation.

We will complete the first phase of drilling at Nara over the next 6 weeks and send the cores for testing. Everything will then depend on the laboratory results, but we are pleased with progress so far."

[master rsi] 11/4/2024 23:58

KEfi 0.58p as UT but the spread of 0.582 v 0.592p

An excellent progress today, though the Final UT price was not the proper outcome of the day.

[master rsi] 11/4/2024 23:43

Brexit Britain's exports SURGE in trade boom since leaving the EU with UK now world's fourth largest exporter/ Story by Georgina Cutle

Brexit Britain has shot up to the fourth largest exporter in the world, despite warnings that international trade would drop off after leaving the EU.

New figures show that Britain has moved from its previous ranking of seventh in 2021 to fourth in 2022.

The United Nations data reveals that the UK has overtaken Japan, France and the Netherlands on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) for goods and services exports.

Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch praised the rise in British trade, saying: "These new figures show how the UK is punching above its weight on trade, and is on track to reach our ambition of exporting a trillion pounds of goods and services a year by 2030.

"The appetite for world-class UK produce continues to grow and this government will keep supporting our brilliant businesses, helping to create more jobs, pay higher wages and grow the economy."

Britain trails behind front runners, China which generates the most wealth from exports followed by the United States and Germany in third place.

[master rsi] 11/4/2024 22:29

MARKET REPORT
LONDON MARKET CLOSE: Dwindling US Fed cut hope unnerves markets

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London closed lower on Thursday, with a hawkish interest rate outlook for the Federal Reserve and geopolitical tensions hurting investor enthusiasm.

Elsewhere in the central banking space, the European Central Bank appeared to lay the groundwork for a June rate cut, while a UK rate setter said the Bank of England is "way off" easing bank rates.

The FTSE 100 index ended down 37.41 points, 0.5%, at 7,923.80. The FTSE 250 lost 14.88 points, 0.1%, at 19,786.87, though the AIM All-Share added 3.64 points, 0.5%, at 758.83.

The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.5% at 791.95, the Cboe UK 250 rose 0.1% to 17,220.35, and the Cboe Small Companies added 0.2% to 14,770.34.

In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended down 0.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt fell 0.8%.

The pound was quoted at USD1.2513 late Thursday afternoon in London, down compared to USD1.2546 at the equities close on Wednesday. The euro stood at USD1.0705, lower against USD1.0743. It had traded just below USD1.07 at one point, a year-to-date low.

Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY153.30, up compared to JPY152.88.

The European Central Bank remains on course to lower interest rates at its June meeting. The ECB left its key interest rates unchanged, as widely expected, but policymakers said they will cut rates should they gain confidence that inflation is falling to the bank's 2% target.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde again affirmed a "data dependent" approach to interest rate decisions, but did add that some in the Governing Council already have the confidence to cut.

Lagarde said in a post-decision press conference: "A few members felt sufficiently confident [to cut interest rates], on the basis of the limited data that we received in April."

However, they then "rallied to the consensus" of the large majority of euro area monetary policymakers.

ING analysts commented: "During the press conference, ECB President Christine Lagarde repeatedly stressed the hint at upcoming rate cuts mentioned above – but she also added that the ECB was not pre-committing to any path for policy rates. At the same time, Lagarde also mentioned that few ECB members had already been in favour of a rate cut today. Today's meeting marked another step in the very gradual transition of the ECB's communication since December from hawkish to dovish, even if it was probably the mildest shift.

"The ECB clearly opted against giving more explicit guidance for a June cut. This reluctance to be more outspoken – combined with the fact that some ECB members were already in favour of a rate cut today – implies a higher degree of disagreement within the central bank. It seems as if at least some ECB members fear that still high services inflation and the recent surge in oil prices, as well as wage developments in Germany, suggest that there still is a considerable risk of inflation re-accelerating."

The aftermath of Wednesday's robust US consumer price inflation was still reverberating in European equities, though US tech shares were higher in mixed trade on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.6% at the time of the London equities close, the S&P 500 fell 0.1%, though the Nasdaq Composite added 0.3%.

On Wednesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the year-on-year rate of consumer price inflation picked up to 3.5% last month, from 3.2% in February, taking it further above the Fed's 2% inflation target.

The rate of consumer price inflation had been expected to pick up to just 3.4%, according to FXStreet cited consensus. The rate of inflation is now at its most lofty since September.

Thursday's US producer price data was less robust, but did pick up. US producer price growth accelerated to 2.1% year-on-year in March, from 1.6% in February.

Berenberg analyst Holger Schmieding noted a "growing gap" between the ECB and Fed.

"The eurozone needs rate cuts, the US economy does not as long as the pre-election fiscal expansion neutralises the impact of high Fed rates," Schmieding added.

Elsewhere, Bank of England rate setter Megan Greene said interest rate cuts "should still be a way off" in the UK, predicting that the "last mile" in getting inflation down "may prove the hardest".

Greene, one of the more hawkish members of the BoE's monetary policy committee, argued in the Financial Times that investors had underestimated the risk that inflation would remain high for longer in the UK than in other advanced economies.

In London, shares in airlines slumped amid rising global tensions. British Airways parent International Consolidated Airlines Group gave back 3.7%, budget carrier easyJet fell 3.6%.

Israel was on alert Thursday after its arch foe Iran threatened reprisals over a strike in Syria this month that killed two Iranian generals, and as the war against Hamas ground on in Gaza.

Days after Israel strengthened its air defences and paused leave for combat units, the US also warned of the risk of an attack by Iran or its allied groups at a time Middle East tensions have soared.

Iran is "threatening to launch a significant attack on Israel," US President Joe Biden said Wednesday, pledging "ironclad" support for its top regional ally despite diplomatic tensions over Israel's military conduct in Gaza.

Crude prices were higher than they were this time on Wednesday, though Brent remained a touch below USD90 a barrel. Brent oil was quoted at USD89.94 a barrel late in London on Thursday, up from USD89.31 late Wednesday.

Gold was quoted at USD2,338.05 an ounce, up against USD2,334.91.

Back in London, consumer goods firm Reckitt, lender Lloyds Banking Group and insurer Aviva fell 2.3%, 4.6% and 6.4%. The trio went ex-dividend, meaning new share buyers do not qualify for the latest payout.

At the other end of the large cap index, AstraZeneca, once of its largest constituents, added 2.1%. It said it plans to increase its dividend by 7% in 2024, having left the payout flat last year.

The Cambridge, England-based pharmaceutical company said the increase will be by 20 US cents to USD3.10 per share.

For 2023, AstraZeneca had paid a total dividend of USD2.90, which was unchanged from 2022, despite skyrocketing profit on the back of lower sales costs.

DIY retailer Kingfisher and engineering company Smiths rose 2.4% and 2.7%. Both were raised to 'buy' from 'hold' by HSBC.

Elsewhere in London, Lok'n Store Group jumped 17% to 1,120.56 pence, after it accepted a takeover approach from Shurgard Self Storage that values the business at GBP378 million.

The cash bid is worth 1,110 pence per Lok'n Store share, a 16% premium to the self-storage provider's closing price of 958p on Wednesday, and 2.3% above its all-time closing high of 1,085p in January 2022.

Brussels-based Shurgard, the largest developer, owner and operator of self-storage facilities in Europe, said the deal represented an "attractive opportunity" to accelerate its growth strategy and create value for shareholders.

Lok'n Store said it considered the terms of the offer "fair and reasonable", and recommended shareholders accept the bid. Shurgard said that, as of Wednesday, it has received irrevocable undertakings to vote in favour of the deal for about 19% of Lok'nStore's shares.

Friday's economic calendar has a UK gross domestic product reading and German inflation data at 0700 BST.

In the local corporate diary, building materials company SigmaRoc reports a trading statement.

Over in New York, the banking earnings season kicks off. Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo release first-quarter numbers. Asset manager BlackRock also reports.

[master rsi] 11/4/2024 22:13

DOW

Finished 2 points lower...

- Wall Street stocks turned a mostly positive performance on Thursday following the release of yet another key inflation report.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.01% at 38,459.08,
while the S&P 500 advanced 0.74% to 5,199.06
and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.68% weaker at 16,442.20.

[master rsi] 11/4/2024 16:26

How the UPS are performing during last month