* LSE surges to record high on Refinitiv deal. * BAT shares jump after beating H1 sales forecast. By Sruthi Shankar and Medha Singh. European shares ended higher on Thursday as strong earnings from British American Tobacco and a multibillion dollar merger in the financial sector helped dispel early gloom after the U.S. Federal Reserve played down prospects for several rate cuts.
Saudi stocks dropped on Wednesday as
losses in petrochemical shares outweighed earnings-fuelled gains
in some banking stocks, while Qatar Insurance pulled the Qatari
market down.
Big Oil needs big plastic. Companies like Chevron (CVX) and Exxon Mobil (XOM) earned that moniker for a reason, but as the petroleum market gets less lucrative and demand projections wane, their investments have shifted. Not long ago it was in the direction of natural gas, oil's cleaner-burning hydrocarbon cousin.
Mexico's economy activity was flat in May after the mining sector dragged down overall economic activity, fueling a debate over whether Latin America's second-largest economy is heading towards a recession.
* Nikkei down 0.45%, slips from 2-1/2-month high. By Shinichi Saoshiro. Japan's Nikkei lost traction on Friday on downbeat earnings both at home and on Wall Street, erasing some of the previous day's advance which had pushed the benchmark to a 2-1/2-month peak.
India's Allahabad Bank on Saturday became the second Indian state-owned bank to report a major alleged fraud by bankrupt steelmaker Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd this month, adding to concerns about a banking industry burdened with bad debts.
Shanghai nickel prices recorded their strongest weekly gain since June 2018, as investors bet on the potential demand for the metal in the electric vehicle battery sector. Shanghai Futures Exchange's most active nickel contract gained 5.5% this week, the strongest since the week ended June 1, 2018. Benchmark nickel in London jumped 0.8% at 0718 GMT to $13,235 a tonne, a three-month high.
European markets declined after chemicals giant BASF's severe profit warning over a global automotive slowdown weighed on investors. The DAX was the worst performing index, plunging 1.3%, while the Stoxx declined 0.7% and the FTSE 100 edged down 0.3%, continuing the soft start to the week. The world's largest chemicals company BASF cut its full-year profit forecast by up to 30%, blaming the trade war between the U.S. and China, and a slowdown in the automotive industry.
Civeo Corporation (CVEO) today announced that it has acquired Action Industrial Catering, a provider of catering and managed services to the remote mining industry in Western Australia. The terms of this cash transaction are not being disclosed by the parties.
Mercury Systems, Inc. (MRCY) announced today the availability of miniaturization packaging services that complement the U.S. Governments global positioning system modernization efforts, advancing the development of smaller, more agile missiles and guided munitions to support mission success.
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