UBM Share News (UBM)

LONDON (Alliance News) - London-listed stocks were staging a rebound midday Friday, with large-cap banks and housebuilders helping the FTSE 100 move back above 6,000, but National Grid was one of the losers after the UK Energy & Climate Change Committee called for a break up of the gas and electric network operator.

The parliamentary committee, comprising cross-party members who examine the activities and policy of the UK Department for Energy & Climate Change, has called for a move toward local energy networks compared to one national network that distributes energy around the country as the market moves toward more low-carbon, renewable sources.

"National Grid's technical expertise in operating the national energy system must be weighed against its potential conflicts of interest. The independent system operator model has worked in the US. It is time for it to be brought to these shores," said Angus Brendan MacNeil, chair of the committee and the only member of the Scottish National Party on the board.

National Grid owns the electricity transmission system in England and Wales, with Scotland operating its own network, and also owns four of the eight gas distribution networks in Great Britain, having sold the other four networks it previously owned.

The stock was one of the worst performers in the FTSE 100, down 1.0%.

The blue-chip index as a whole was up 1.2%, or 72.88 points, at 6,023.36. The FTSE 250 was up 1.6% at 16,281.25 and the AIM All-Share index up 0.3% at 711.35.

UK stocks were sold this week as the campaign to Leave the European Union gained ground and took the lead in recent opinion polls. However, late Thursday, Brexit campaigning was halted following the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox.

Both of the official campaigns suspended activities as news of the attack in Birstall in West Yorkshire flowed through the afternoon and cancelled a range of events due to take place on Friday.

"One of the triggers for the change in market sentiment appears to be the suspension of Brexit campaigns following tragic killing of MP Jo Cox. The suspension of campaigns just means Brexit can temporarily move to the sidelines," said Jasper Lawler, market analyst at CMC Markets.

This meant that there was a reversal for sectors such as banks and housebuilders which were doing badly earlier in the week as Leave intentions took the lead in opinion polls.

Lloyds Banking Group, up 5.3%, Standard Chartered, up 4.7% and Taylor Wimpey, up 4.4% were amongst the best performers in the FTSE 100 on Friday.

Lloyds on Thursday won the backing of the UK Supreme Court to redeem GBP3.3 billion of costly bonds, in a decision that could save the bank up to GBP1.0 billion in interest payments.

The Supreme Court held that a "capital disqualification event" took place, with the enhanced capital notes - otherwise known as contingent convertible securities, or CoCos - issued in December 2009 no longer counting towards Lloyds' regulatory capital position.

Conversely, gold miners, which had outperformed this week as investors flocked to the safe-haven of bullion, were the worst blue-chip performers. Randgold Resources was down 2.5% and Fresnillo down 1.2%. The price of gold traded at USD1,287.12 an ounce midday Friday in London, lower than the USD1,309.49 an ounce at the London stock market close on Thursday.

In Europe, the CAC 40 index in Paris and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt were both up 1.2%.

Ahead of the open on Wall Street, futures indicated the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq 100 both down 0.1% and the S&P 500 down 0.2%.

Elsewhere in UK company news, events group UBM said it has completed the sale of its PR Newswire business to Cision, a PR software company owned by Chicago-based private equity house GTCR Canyon Holdings. UBM had announced the sale of the business in late 2015 and said the total cash proceeds from the sale will be GBP490.0 million.

As it previously announced, the company will return GBP245.0 million of the proceeds to shareholders via a special dividend, payable on July 8, with a share consolidation of eight shares for nine. UBM traded up 2.7%.

In the AIM market, CDialogues traded down 28%. It initiated a review of its business and assets after it received notice that the contracts it holds with telecommunications services firm Numbase, from which it generates all its current revenue, will be terminated.

The mobile marketing company has been providing mobile marketing and campaign services via Numbase to mobile companies in Lebanon and Kuwait, under two contracts in each of the countries. Numbase has now said it will terminate the deals and CDialogues said it is holding talks with Numbase to try to seek alternative outcomes.

The four deals have different termination terms, but CDialogues said it anticipates all the deals will have been cancelled by the end of September, at the latest, should the plans proceed.

ZincOx Resources said it has raised GBP300,000 through the placing of 30 million shares at 1 pence each to boost its finances and allow it to pursue potential deals. The stock traded up 22% at 0.76p at midday.

The zinc recycling company said the proceeds will be used for working capital purposes and to allow the company to pursue any potential investment opportunities. The group also said Simon Hall, its finance director, has stepped down as part of its push to cut costs. He will be replaced by an interim finance director in due course.

Still ahead in the economic calendar, US housing starts are at 1330 BST, and the US Reuters/Michigan consumer sentiment index is at 1500 BST.

By Neil Thakrar; neilthakrar@alliancenews.com; @NeilThakrar1

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