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London midday: Stocks post modest gains as financials, miners gain
UK stocks were putting in a decent performance on Friday, bucking the negative trend seen across Europe, with decent gains in the heavyweight financial and mining sectors providing a lift.

US pre-open: Stocks to rebound slightly after recent weakness
US stocks were expected to rebound slightly on Friday, as investors looked for buying opportunities after the S&P 500 and Nadsaq both hit three-month lows the previous session.

BoA stays negative on European equities, sees 15% downside for Stoxx 600
Equity strategists at Bank of America sounded a pessimistic note on the outlook for European equities now that the European Central Bank was likely done hiking rates.

Europe midday: Shares lower on EZ flash PMI data, rate fear worries
European shares were still lower on Friday driven by fears over future rate rises in the wake of hawkish central bank comments this week, and preliminary eurozone survey data showing manufacturing activity continued to slow although output marginally improved.

Shore Capital upbeat on Mothercare's future, but stock still a 'hold'
Mothercare's forecast-beating annual results demonstrate "resilience and adaptability" according to Shore Capital, but that wasn't enough to change the broker's 'hold' rating.

Eurozone economy continues to falter - PMI
Eurozone output nudged higher in September, a closely-watched survey showed on Friday, but the struggling manufacturing sector continued to weigh on growth.

Blencowe shares soar on US government investment
Shares in Blencowe Resources surged on Friday after the Uganda-focused graphite miner said it had received $5m in US government support for its Orom-Cross project.

R&Q in advanced talks with possible Accredited buyer
R&Q Insurance Holdings responded to press speculation on Friday morning regarding a potential sale of its programme management business Accredited.

Ergomed unveils promising set of interim results
Pharmaceutical service provider Ergomed announced a promising set of interim results for the first half on Friday.

UK private sector output unexpectedly falls - PMI
UK output unexpectedly fell in September, a closely-watched survey showed on Friday, dragged lower by a weaker service sector.

Mothercare swings to loss, still beats expectations on earnings
Infant and young children’s retailer Mothercare reported a loss of £0. 1m in its full-year results on Friday, swinging from a profit of £12. 1m in 2022.

Ascential swings to small first-half operating profit
Information, analytics and e-commerce company Ascential reported a positive trajectory in first-half revenue growth on Friday, as well as a strategic positioning to bolster its long-term success.

UK watchdog set to clear Microsoft-Activision deal
Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard looked set to clear regulatory hurdles on Friday, after the US tech giant changed the structure of the deal.

Asia report: Markets mixed as BoJ maintains ultra-loose policy
Markets in the Asia-Pacific region displayed mixed outcomes at the end of the trading week on Friday.

Bitcoin suffers after the Fed's latest decision: "It could fall even further"
The cryptocurrency market faces notable declines. Bitcoin (BTC) falls sharply in the last 24 hours and stands at $26,600, while Ethereum (ETH), which followed in its wake, is just below $1,600.

AstraZeneca reports positive findings from breast cancer threatment trial
New high-level results from AstraZeneca's TROPION-Breast01 phase three trial, released on Friday, carried encouraging news for patients with inoperable or metastatic hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-low or negative breast cancer.
Europe open: Shares lower as German data, hawkish central banks hit sentiment
European shares opened lower on Friday as investors digested rate news from central banks this week, while weaker German business activity survey data also dampened sentiment.

London open: Markets directionless in wake of central bank decisions
UK stocks were struggling for direction in early deals on Friday as investors continued to digest market-moving central bank decisions across the globe.

Compass shakes up board positions as North American boss retires
Catering giant Compass has announced that director Gary Green is retiring from the board later this year.
Frasers tries to drag Morgan Stanley boss into margin call legal fight
Mike Ashley's Frasers Group on Friday confirmed it had asked a New York court to order Morgan Stanley chief executive James Gorman to hand over evidence for a UK lawsuit against the bank over an almost $1bn margin call covering trades in Hugo Boss.