Sirius Minerals Share News (SXX)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Thursday.----------FTSE 100 - WINNERS----------RELX, up 0.3%. The information and analytics company confirmed it will complete its buyback programme by the end of 2019. RELX has completed GBP250 million of its previously announced GBP600 million buyback, having returned GBP700 million in 2018. Business trends remain unchanged, RELX said, with the focus for the firm being on organic development. It has made five acquisitions so far in 2019, totalling GBP236 million. ----------FTSE 100 - LOSERS----------J Sainsbury, down 5.5%. The supermarket chain abandoned its planned merger with peer Asda Group, following the UK regulator's decision to block the move. The UK Competition & Markets Authority has blocked the merger after deciding it would increase prices in stores, online, and at petrol stations. There would be a "substantial" lessening of competition were the two to merge, the CMA said Thursday, confirming its previously stated preliminary opinion. It said UK shoppers would be affected everywhere, not just where Sainsbury's and Asda stores overlap. "This is undoubtedly a blow to Sainsbury's, which was relying on the merger to rejuvenate what's been a paltry performance of late. Sainsbury's position in the middle of the pack makes for tough going as the supermarket space is a crowded one, and the group faces fierce competition from above and below," said Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Sophie Lund-Yates. The stock slumped to an intraday low of 212.10p in early trade - its lowest since mid-2016. ----------Legal & General, down 5.1%, Fresnillo, down 2.7%, Glencore, down 2.6%. The stocks went ex-dividend meaning new buyers no longer qualify for the latest payout. ----------Taylor Wimpey, down 4.5%. The housebuilder's shares were lower after it warned that its full-year margins will be hurt by rising build-costs inflation. Taylor Wimpey said the underlying conditions driving UK housing demand "remained robust" - citing "continued good accessibility" to mortgages and low interest rates for customers, combined with high employment levels. Taylor Wimpey said its sales have continued to be "encouraging" through the spring season with average private sales per outlet per week for the year to date up 1.0%, ahead of the company's expectations. However, it expects cost inflation for 2019 to be about 5% after experiencing higher than expected inflation in the early part of the year. "Given the strong sales performance, we expect full year volumes to be slightly higher than 2018, but given the greater build cost inflation for the year, we expect margins to be slightly lower," the company said. Fellow housebuilders Barratt Developments, Persimmon and Berkeley Group were down 2.6%, 2.5% and 2.3% respectively. ----------Barclays, down 1.9%. The lender reported a slip in first quarter profit due to a "challenging income environment" for the Corporate & Investment Bank, but was able to post a positive rate of return. Barclays reported pretax profit for the three months ended March of GBP1.48 billion compared to a GBP236 million loss a year before. However, excluding litigation and conduct costs, Barclays' pretax profit decreased 11% to GBP1.54 billion from GBP1.73 billion a year ago. The lender attributed this drop to a "challenging income environment" for its Corporate & Investment Bank, and an increase in impairments on "the non-recurrence of a favourable US macroeconomic forecast update" compared to the first quarter of 2018. Barclays' total income was down 2.1% at GBP4.25 billion in the quarter, with net operating income decreasing 5.3% to GBP4.80 billion from GBP5.07 billion. ----------FTSE 250 - WINNERS----------Sirius Minerals, up 3.7%. The fertiliser firm has signed a new supply agreement for future production from its Woodsmith mine in Yorkshire, UK. The ten-year deal has been signed with Munich-based BayWa, and will see Sirius supply the firm with POLY4 fertilizer in Europe. BayWa, Sirius said, distributes over 30 million tonnes a year of agricultural goods in Europe, including some 2.0 million tonnes of fertiliser a year. The deal has a minimum volume ramping up to 2.5 million tonnes of POLY4 a year by the fifth year, meaning Sirius has now agreed supply deals covering 10.7 million tonnes a year.----------Meggitt, up 2.2%. The aerospace engineer said first quarter revenue was "strong" due on the back of new aircraft platforms and growth in its end-markets. The company said this led to organic revenue growth of 9%, excluding foreign exchange and disposals. Meggitt said its Civil Aerospace division achieved a 7% rise in organic revenue, with the Original Equipment unit reporting 9% growth. The company said this growth reflected "strong demand" for a new generation of aircraft. Aftermarket posted 6% revenue growth on "good" underlying air traffic in large jets. The company's Defence division reported 18% organic revenue growth, with the company citing "strong demand" for engine composites, brakes and training systems as the main drivers. The division's Energy revenue declined by 8% organically, reflecting lower demand in the nuclear sector, said Meggitt. ----------FTSE 250 - LOSERS----------Acacia Mining, down 4.5%. The gold miner said a number of operational issues held back production in the first quarter of 2019. Acacia produced 104,899 ounces of gold during the first three months of 2019, 13% lower year-on-year. Gold sold fell 10% to 104,985 ounces. Acacia attributed the lower production to fall of ground at the Gokona underground mine in Tanzania, a breakdown of an excavator at Nyabirama's open pit, and an expected fall in output at Buzwagi as it moved to a lower grade processing operation. Despite the production decline, Acacia remains on track to achieve 2019 guidance of 500,000 ounces to 550,000 ounces of gold. The company's quarterly revenue fell 12% year-on-year to USD138 million due to lower gold prices and 5% rise in all-in sustaining costs.----------OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS----------Carpetright, up 36% at 20.9p. The troubled floor coverings retailer reported a "significant" improvement in recent sales. Carpetright had to carry out a significant restructuring during 2018, agreeing a company voluntary arrangement. The firm was forced to raise new capital and close stores to avoid administration. Trading in the 12 weeks to April 20 has been encouraging, Carpetright said, with UK like-for-like sales improving "significantly" during the last quarter of its year ending on Saturday, compared to the prior three quarters. Carpetright is on track to achieve its GBP19 million annualised cash savings target, it added. Last May the stock was trading as high as 39.40p, and it hit 144.62p in 2015. ----------