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The FTSE 100 ended the day strongly to close xx higher at xxxx.xx. The overseas earnings dominated index was helped by weakness in sterling against the dollar as money flowed into the US currency, often seen as a safe haven in volatile times.
Investors continue to weigh turmoil in Afghanistan as well as mounting Covid cases spread by the Delta variant. In the US the S&P 500 was down 0.8% to 4,446.16 by 4.30pm UK time.
BHP erased some of its earlier gains to trade 3.1% higher at £23.51 on announcing that it had agreed to sell its petroleum business to Australia's Woodside in an all-stock merger.
BHP, which also announced a 42% jump in annual net profit to $11.30 billion, said the deal would see BHP shareholders own 48% of the enlarged Woodside.
On a historic day for the world's biggest miner, it also gave a green light for the development of the $5.7 billion Janson potash project in Canada and announced plans to move its primary listing to Australia, with the result it will exit the FTSE 100.
Elsewhere, food delivery company Just Eat Takeaway added 2.9% to £63.09, despite reporting wider first-half losses pinned on investment spending.
Still, Just Eat Takeaway said its losses had reached a nadir and it stuck to its full-year guidance.
Telecom group BT fell 1.3% to 173.6p on announcing that it had poached Asos chairman Adam Crozier to succeed Jan du Plessis from the beginning of December.
Asos, which said it was searching for a new chairman, reversed 0.4% to £39.03.
Online contracts-for-difference broker Plus500 rallied 5.3% to £15.05 even as it reported 48% fall in first-half profit, citing calmer market conditions that presented less opportunities for customers to trade.
Plus500, however, also upgraded its annual sales guidance and said it would launch a new $12.6 million share buyback, following completion of a $25 million buyback announced in February.
Climate management solutions group Genuit fell gained 2.6% to 665p after upgrading its annual outlook after it reported a 7.6% rise in first-profit profit thanks to a boost from acquisitions.
Genuit said it now expected full-year underlying operating profit be 'ahead of previous management expectations'.
Engineering and technology staffing company Gattaca shed 7.3% to 229p despite it, too, lifting its forecasts amid a recovery in the recruitment market.
Gattaca said it expected continuing underlying pre-tax profit for the full year to be above £3 million, which compared to market consensus of £2.7 million.
Brake-disc manufacturer Surface Transforms jumped 4.7% to 64.9p on news that it had been selected as a tier-one supplier to a 'major mainstream US automotive company' in a contract worth around £20 million.
Ground engineering contractor Van Elle dropped 2.2% to 45p, having booked a full-year loss amid a flat revenue performance pinned on the pandemic and Brexit uncertainty.
Van Elle said its revenue run-rate at the end of the financial year had returned to pre-pandemic levels.