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(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London are seen opening slightly lower on Wednesday morning, with the main focus being the UK autumn budget.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak will deliver his budget statement starting at 1230 BST.
Elsewhere, the economic calendar on Wednesday has an interest rate decision from the Bank of Canada at 1500 BST.
In early UK company news, engineering, design and information management software provider Aveva Group reported growth in the first half of its current financial year. Mexican gold and silver miner Fresnillo expressed confidence in achieving full-year guidance amid a strong performance in the third quarter of 2021.
IG futures indicate the FTSE 100 index will open 9.5 points, or 0.1%, lower at 7,270.60. The blue-chip index closed up 54.80 points, or 0.8%, at 7,277.62 on Tuesday.
Aveva said its revenue grew by 9% in the six months to September 30 on a pro forma organic constant currency basis. This increase drove significant margin leverage and growth in adjusted earnings before interest and tax, it said. For the first half of financial 2021, Aveva reported revenue of GBP332.6 million.
The Cambridge-based company said all of its fee types grew, with a particularly strong contribution from the recently acquired OSIsoft business.
Maintenance & Services revenue, meanwhile, increased at a low single-digit rate, while Subscription & Perpetual licence revenue grew at a mid- to high-teens rate, Aveva said.
Fresnillo expressed confidence in its full-year guidance amid a higher volume of ore processed and an increase in silver ore grades in the three months to September 30.
The miner reported year-to-date attributable silver production of 40.2 million ounces in line with the prior year due to a higher ore grade at the San Julian disseminated ore body in Mexico and, to a lesser extent, the contribution of development ore from the Juanicipio mine, also in Mexico.
Year-to-date attributable gold production of 600,900 ounces was up 8.5% year-on-year, primarily due to the higher volume of ore processed at Herradura mine in Mexico following the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, which had resulted in lower volumes of ore deposited last year.
Fresnillo said it remains on track to meet its 2021 full-year guidance of 53.5 million to 59.5 million ounces of silver and 675,000 to 725,000 ounces of gold.
Shares in Wm Morrison Supermarkets will be suspended from trading in London on Wednesday and be cancelled on Thursday, after its shares were suspended on Wednesday. Clayton, Dubilier & Rice's GBP7 billion takeover of Morrisons was approved by shareholders last week Tuesday. Some 99% of Morrison shareholders backed the deal.
Darktrace will replace Morrisons in the FTSE 100 index.
Payments solutions provider Network International Holdings reported strong trading in its United Arab Emirates merchant business, resulting in 19% group revenue growth in the third quarter of 2021. However, when compared to the third quarter of 2019, revenue was still down 1%.
Network International said the UAE business traded strongly during the quarter and total direct processed volume fully recovered to 2019 levels.
"This is a reflection of our enhanced sales strategies, faster merchant onboarding and new capability launches; as well as improving underlying market dynamics. Consumer spending in the region has continued to improve, supported by the ongoing return of tourism and growing domestic consumer confidence," said Chief Executive Nandan Mer.
Elsewhere, Network International said its market entry to Saudi Arabia is on-track. The company said it has made progress in the building of its technology platform and a pipeline of customer commitments, and it expects to launch services in early 2022.
"Our efforts are laying the foundations for future growth and we remain confident in our outlook," added Mer.
Holiday retailer On the Beach Group reported suppressed trading in the second half of its most recent financial year, which ended on September 30. While demand for international leisure travel currently remains below pre-pandemic levels, the company highlighted that its specific initiatives, including its 'free Covid tests' promotion, combined with a further softening of government restrictions, have stimulated bookings in the final weeks of the financial year.
Going forward, On The Beach said it remains committed to investing for long-term market share gains in its current financial year, ahead of full market recovery.
"The strategic initiatives we have taken throughout the year to best navigate the crisis and manage risk while investing in our brand, people and technology, ensure On the Beach is in a strong position as we head into our typically busiest booking period," said Chief Executive Simon Cooper.
The UK corporate calendar on Wednesday also has third-quarter results from pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline at midday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed marginally higher, up 15.73 points. The S&P 500 added 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite 0.1%.
US President Joe Biden on Tuesday threw his weight behind the struggling Democratic candidate in Virginia's closely watched election for governor, urging a crowd to defeat Republican "extremism".
Standing by Terry McAuliffe, whose slide in the polls has put Democrats on red alert for a wider Republican comeback in next year's midterm battle for Congress, Biden mocked the Republican opponent as an "acolyte of Donald Trump".
On paper, McAuliffe, 64, should have a relatively easy run in a week's time against Republican Glenn Youngkin. Already a former Virginia governor and seeking to succeed the outgoing Democrat, McAuliffe is the closest thing to an incumbent in a state where Biden trounced Trump in the presidential election 12 months ago.
Instead, Youngkin is tied with McAuliffe in the polls, eying an upset victory on November 2 that would energize his party's push to regain control of Congress in the 2022 midterms.
Stocks were mostly lower in Asia on Wednesday. The Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed marginally lower. In China, the Shanghai Composite was down 1.2%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 1.7%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed up 0.1%.
Chinese authorities have told Evergrande founder Xu Jiayin, once the country's richest man, to use his personal wealth to alleviate the embattled company's debt crisis, according to media reports.
The liquidity crunch at one of China's biggest property developers has hammered investor sentiment and rattled the country's crucial real estate market, while fanning fears of a possible contagion of the wider economy.
The pound was quoted at USD1.3765 early Wednesday in London, lower than USD1.3774 at the London equities close Tuesday.
The euro was priced at USD1.1601, up from USD1.1587. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY114.03, down from JPY114.25.
Brent oil was quoted at USD85.48 a barrel Wednesday morning, down from USD86.37 late Tuesday. Gold stood at USD1,789.32 an ounce, marginally higher from USD1,788.24.
By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com
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