HCFT.L Share News (HCFT)

LONDON (Alliance News) - UK shares have opened mostly flat Friday, though mid- and small-caps are slightly outperforming, after disappointing European economic data on Thursday has been followed by a dearth of fresh leads Friday.

Intertek leads the FTSE 100 fallers, down 3.4%, after the firm said variable market conditions, weaker-than-expected activity in its energy infrastructure market, and the appreciation of sterling hit its first quarter revenues.

Here is what you need to know at the UK market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: flat to marginally higher at 6,848.87
FTSE 250: up 0.2% at 15,650.65
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.2% at 803.09
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Hang Seng: down 0.3% at 22,671.03
Nikkei 225: closed down 1.4% at 14,096.59
DJIA: closed down 1.0% at 16,446.81
S&P 500: closed down 0.9% at 1,870.85
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GBP-USD: up at USD1.6798
EUR-USD: up at USD1.3723

GOLD: down at USD1,293.40 per ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD109.21 a barrel

(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Friday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times British Summer Time)

09:00 Italy Trade Balance
10:00 EU Trade Balance
13:30 US Housing Starts and Building Permits
14:55 US Reuters/Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index Preliminary
16:50 US Fed's Bullard speech
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Foreign direct investment in China recovered in April, figures from the Ministry of Commerce showed. China attracted USD8.7 billion of foreign direct investment in April, up 3.4%. This was followed by a 1.47% drop in March. During January to April, FDI advanced 5% from same period of last year to USD40.3 billion. Investment from South Korea increased the most in four months to April, up 138.5%. Meanwhile, FDI from Japan plunged 46.8% annually and that from US slid 11.4%. In the first four months, China's non-financial direct outbound investment declined 12.9% to USD25.7 billion.
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Revised estimates released by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed that month-over-month growth in industrial production for March was upwardly revised to 0.7%. Earlier, the ministry estimated the industrial production growth for March at 0.3%. The March reading represented a rebound from the 2.3% drop recorded for February. Annually, industrial production was up an unadjusted 7.4% in March compared with a 7.0% rise in February.
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India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party was ahead in 90 constituencies, with the incumbent Indian National Congress party leading in 36, according to early counts. Counting is being held for general elections to India's 543 - member Lok Sabha or lower house of parliament. "Things are looking bleak," Abhishek Manu Singhvi, spokesman for the incumbent Congress party, said on NDTV news channel. NDTV, based on information gathered by its reporters at counting stations around the country, put the BJP - led National Democratic Alliance ahead in 215 seats, and the Congress-led United Unprogressive Alliance with 69, with the regional and smaller parties leading in 104.
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A fresh round of talks aimed at achieving reconciliation in crisis-hit Ukraine would take place in the coming days, former president Leonid Kravchuk was reported as saying. Kravchuk, who co-chaired round-table talks earlier this week, said Saturday was a possible date for the next session of a national unity dialogue, Russian news agency Itar-Tass reported. The eastern Ukrainian cities of Donetsk or Kharkiv were likely venues, he said. The US called the first round of talks in Kiev "a success," and dismissed criticism that they did not involve pro-Russian separatists.
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The corporate owner of the Soma coalmine, scene of Turkey's deadliest mining disaster, said Thursday that 450 workers had been rescued with 80 of them still hospitalized. With hope of finding more survivors largely gone, the company repeated the official toll of at least 282 killed in the explosion and devastating underground fire two days earlier. At Soma, weeping relatives buried their dead. Pressure on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan intensified after a photograph showing one of his advisers kicking a protester at the disaster site was widely circulated on social media. Police used tear gas and water canon against thousands of demonstrators in the western Turkish city of Izmir. About 20,000 people attended the rally in Turkey's third-largest city.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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CREDIT SUISSE RAISES POUNDLAND TO 'OUTPERFORM' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 400 PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Petrofac Ltd said it has been awarded a contract worth more than USD970 million for the gas gathering, treatment and export facilities package of the Reggane North Development Project in Algiers. The international oil and gas services provider said the contract, which will run for 36 months, was awarded by Groupement Reggane, a partnership comprising Algerian state-owned company Sonatrach at 40%, Spain's Repsol at 29.25%, Germany's RWE Dea AG at 19.5% and Edison of Italy at 11.25%. Under the terms of the contract, Petrofac will be undertaking the engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and start-up of the gas treatment plant, gathering system and export pipeline. The Reggane North Development Project is located in the Reggane basin of the Algerian Sahara desert 1,500 km south-west of Algiers.
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Intertek said variable market conditions, weaker-than-expected activity in its energy infrastructure market, and the appreciation of sterling hit its first quarter revenues. In an interim management statement for the period from January 1, 2014 to April 30, 2014, the company said total revenue grew 3.6% at constant exchange rates, comprising organic growth of 0.3% and 3.3% growth from acquisitions made in 2013 and 2014. At actual exchange rates, total revenue declined by 4.9% as sterling appreciated against many of its currencies. "Variable market conditions in the second half of 2013 continued into the first four months of 2014, resulting in good growth in our key product-related business lines but weaker than anticipated activity in the energy infrastructure market," it said.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Carphone Warehouse Group PLC said it has agreed to sell its 46% share in joint venture Virgin Mobile France to Numericable Group SA for EUR325 Million, following the announcement of its merger with fellow FTSE 250-constituent Dixons Retail PLC Thursday. Numericable is a French telecommunications and broadband services provider, formed in 2007 by the merger of competitors Noos and NC Numericable Networks.
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Bovis Homes PLC said it has ramped up house building in 2014 with 80% more homes built in the first four months of the year, compared with the same period in 2013, while it is now confident of achieving a strong increase in return on capital employed to at least 15% this year, assuming stable market conditions. The housebuilder said it achieved 1,151 net private reservations in the 18 weeks of 2014 to May 9, up from 927 reservations a year earlier, while net private reservations per site per week improved 21% to 0.69 from 0.57 a year ago.
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Engineering and construction group Kentz Corporation Ltd said trading in the year-to-date has been in line with management expectations, having recorded an increase in order intake, order backlog and prospect pipeline. It said that in the first four months to end of April, order intake was USD1.8 billion, while its prospect pipeline increased to USD16.3 billion, higher than the previous quarter and the USD13.7 billion recorded for the same period last year. The group said that backlog at the end of April was USD4.5 billion, compared with USD2.8 billion a year earlier.
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St Modwen Properties PLC said its 50:50 joint venture with VINCI PLC, VINCI St. Modwen, has submitted its planning application for the regeneration of the 57 acre New Covent Garden Market site in Nine Elms, London with its partner, Covent Garden Market Authority.
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Synergy Health PLC said it had acquired Italy's Bioster SpA and its associated companies for EUR29.0 million, to be funded from its existing debt facilities. Bioster, like Synergy Health, provides sterlisation facilities and services to the medical device and healthcare sector. It posted revenues of EUR20.2 million in 2013, and underlying earnings before interest and tax of EUR2.6 million.
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Heritage Oil Says Recommended Acquisition By Al Mirqab Capital To Complete This Summer
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Inchcape Like-For-Like Revenue In 1st 4 Mos Of 2014 Up 0.8% At Actual Currency, Up 9.5% At Constant Currency
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Hansteen Holdings: 548 New Lettings And Lease Renewals On 294,000 SQM In 2014
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Residential property business Grainger PLC reported an increase in profit and revenue for the first half, boosted by profit from joint ventures. Grainger, which undertakes fund, property and asset management along with residential-led development, posted pretax profit of GBP49.8 million for the period ended March 31, up from GBP11.0 million a year earlier, boosted by profit from joint ventures and a change in fair value derivatives.
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COMPANIES - ALL-SHARE AND AIM
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Exillon Energy Says Average Production 18,211 bbl/Day In April; Says Drop To 16,777 bbl/Day In March Due To Oil Pipeline Repair Works, Temporary Suspension Of Certain Operations
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Brammer Says Trading In Line To Deliver Management's Full-Year Expectations; Overall Sales, Excluding Lonne Acquisition, Up 4.6% At Constant Currencies In 2014 To Date; Gross Profit Margin Up 20 Basis Points On Year
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Quintain Estates & Development Sells 50% Share In iQ Student Accomodation To Its Partner Wellcome Trust For GBP106.4M
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John Menzies Maintains Full Year Outlook; Says 2nd Half Weighting May Lead H1 To Be Similar To Previous Year
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Fastjet Temporarily Suspends Fly 540 Operations In Ghana Due To Restructuring
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Lamprell Launches 5-For-16 Rights Issue Of 81.4M Shares At 88p To Raise USD120M; Says Proceeds Of Rights Issue To Facilitate Debt Refinancing Of USD350M; Proceeds Of Rights Issue Also To Be Used For Yard Investment Programme; Says FY Performance Remains In Line With Expectations
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Skyepharma Says Trading Performance To Date Broadly In Line With Expectations; Q1 Revenue Has Benefited From Milestone Payments
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Produce Investments Acquires The Jersey Royal Company Ltd For GBP15.0M; Confirms It Will Cease Operations At The Tern Hill Packing Facility
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Office2Office Says Trading In Line With Expectations
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Tyman Says Trading In First 4 Months Has Been In Line With Management Expectations; Q1 Revenues From Continuing Operations Up 34%, Boosted by Truth And Vedasil Acquisitions
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Friday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Bovis Homes
Inchcape
Kentz Corporation
Fresnillo
Centamin
Intertek
Chesnara
Derwent London
Highcroft Investments
John Menzies
Tribal Group
SIG
Tyman
Treatt
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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