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The FTSE 100 started Wednesday down 1% to 7,074.44 after weak trading on Wall Street as investors start to fret about a weakening in the economic outlook.
Mining group Anglo American said the value of its diamond sales at De Beers remained broadly steady in the seventh sales cycle of 2021.
De Beers rough diamond sales amounted to $515 million, based on provisional numbers, the company said. It shares dipped 0.4% to £30.83.
Engineering group Smiths said it had been agreed to sell is medical business to ICU Medical for $2.4 billion, with the bidder having trumped a rival $2.0 billion offer from TA Associates. The shares advanced 4.2% to £14.82.
Waste management group Biffa said its revenue had risen 12% year-on-year in the first five months of its financial year, though it noted it was facing a shortage of drivers.
Revenue for the five months through August was up 3% excluding acquisitions, it added. The shares fell 1.6% to 397.5p.
Homewares retailer Dunelm booked a 45% rise in annual profit, declared a special dividend and upgraded its guidance as demand held up throughout the pandemic.
Pre-tax profit for the year through 26 June increased to £157.8 million, up from £109.1 million year-on-year, as sales climbed 26% to £1.34 billion. It advanced 7.9% to £13.87.
Rubber products supplier Avon Protection said it had won a contract worth up to $87.6 million over two years to develop and supply the US Army with integrated head protection system.
The contract replaced the next-generation IHPS contract announced on 24 September 2020, which was withdrawn following a competitor protest. Avon shares ticked up 0.5% to £17.85.
Concrete-levelling technology group Somero Enterprises posted a large rise in first-half profit and upgraded its annual guidance, citing a 'very strong and highly active' US market.
Pre-tax profit for the six months through June increased to $23.5 million, up from $7.5 million year-on-year, as revenue jumped 82% to $64.4 million.
Somero advanced 9.5% to 514.4p.
Advertising firm S4 Capital said it had acquired US cultural and creative marketing agency Cashmere, for an undisclosed sum. Its hares dipped 0.3% to 810.2p.