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(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London are seen opening higher on Friday, with the UK market fuelled by record highs in the US on Thursday after being closed for Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
In company news, under-fire NMC Health defended itself against one line of attack by short seller Muddy Waters. Oil and gas firm Anglo African Oil & Gas is to become a cash shell after agreeing to sell a large stake in its only asset to Zenith Energy.
IG futures indicate the FTSE 100 index is to open 36.66 points higher at 7,668.90. The blue-chip index closed up 8.65 points, or 0.1%, at 7,632.24 on Tuesday.
NMC Health said STH Consultant, the engineering consultant retained by NMC, has provided written confirmation of the total built-up floor area of NMC Royal Women's Hospital in Abu Dhabi at 18,595 metres squared. NMC also made publicly available floor plans for the hospital approved by the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi.
The statement came in response to attacks on the FTSE 100-listed hospital operator by Muddy Waters Capital over its accountancy practises.
In a series of reports last week, Muddy Waters highlighted a USD107.4 million investment by NMC in the redevelopment of NMC Royal Women's Hospital, previously known as Brightpoint Royal Women's Hospital. "Red flags" in this investment, it said, included the cost being USD7,700 per square metre, exceeding Muddy Waters' expectation of USD3,500 to USD4,000.
Anglo African Oil & Gas said it has agreed to sell an 80% stake in its subsidiary Anglo African Oil & Gas Congo to Zenith Energy, in a deal worth GBP1 million.
AAOG Congo currently produces approximately 30 barrels of oil per day and is Anglo African Oil & Gas's only asset.
Zenith will pay an initial GBP500,000 in instalments over a six-month period and the remainder to be paid by the issue of Zenith ordinary shares to Anglo African. Anglo African has agreed not to sell the Zenith shares for a period of six months after the deal's completion.
Following the transaction, Anglo African Oil & Gas will become a cash shell.
Anglo African Oil & Gas said the sale was conducted to reduce the costs and has been reviewing its financing options to enable it to secure the longer-term viability, due to the limited cash resources it has available.
In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.4%, S&P 500 up 0.5% and Nasdaq Composite up 0.8%, all three setting fresh closing highs.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index finished above 9,000 for the first time on Thursday, hitting its 10th straight record aided by gains from e-commerce firm Amazon and other tech stocks.
The pound was quoted at USD1.2995 early Friday, up from USD1.2951 at the London equities close Tuesday.
The euro was quoted at USD1.1118, up from USD1.1079 at the European equities close Tuesday.
Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY109.49, flat compared to JPY109.41 Tuesday afternoon.
Brent oil was quoted at USD67.98 a barrel, up from USD66.78 at the London equities close Tuesday.
Gold was quoted at USD1,508.40 an ounce early Friday, up from USD1,489.92 late Tuesday.
The Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.4% on Friday. In China, the Shanghai Composite closed down 0.1%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is up 1.2%.
Japan's industrial production slipped 0.9% in November from the previous month, while the unemployment rate fell, the country's government said Friday.
The drop marked a second consecutive month of decline, following a 4.5% drop in October. Industrial production fared slightly better than the median forecast of a 1.2% fall, as predicted by analysts surveyed by the Nikkei Business Daily newspaper.
Meanwhile, Japan's unemployment rate fell to 2.2% in November from 2.4% in the previous month.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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