Insurer Beazley has confirmed there is no change to its guidance after a global IT outage caused by Crowdstrike raised fears about potential claims.

As a leading cyber security insurer, Beazley was the FTSE 100’s biggest faller on Friday as an update fault rendered millions of Microsoft devices useless and brought airports, banks, and businesses across the globe to standstill.

Beazely investors breathed a sigh of relief on Tuesday as the cyber security insured said the outage would not impact guidance for earnings.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Beazley said:

“Given the unprecedented nature of this event and Beazley’s position as a leading cyber insurer, the Company has elected to provide an update on its position in relation to the outage.  Based on what is known at this point, the event will not change the current undiscounted combined ratio guidance of low-80s for the full year.

“Beazley will update the market on its first half performance on 8 August and will provide any further relevant updates in relation to this event at that time.”

Beazley shares were 1.9% higher at the time of writing as investors digested the update and considered the longer term implications for the company.

“Beazley calmed market fears by saying there is no change to its full-year guidance as it currently stands. Whether that situation changes over the coming days is another thing. A lot of companies will still be getting their head around the full impact of the global IT outage and Beazley might simply be facing the calm before the storm,” said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.

“The flipside is that more companies might feel compelled to buy cyber insurance to give them protection against any future incidents, which could benefit Beazley.”

Petro Matad has announced the commencement of completion operations on its Heron-1 oil discovery. The work, which began on 22 July, involves PetroChina’s well completion subsidiary DQE and Petro Matad’s team.

The update follows a recent fund raise which the company says will see them through to first production from their Block XX field.

The planned operations include a reservoir stimulation process to enhance near wellbore drainage and the installation of downhole production equipment. These activities are expected to conclude by mid-August.

Following the completion operations, the company will prepare the wellsite for surface production equipment installation, slated to begin in August. Once the surface equipment is connected and commissioned, the Heron-1 well will be ready for production start-up.

Petro Matad has scheduled meetings with the Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority of Mongolia (MRPAM) and PetroChina’s in-country management team before the end of July. These discussions aim to finalise cooperation agreements, allowing Petro Matad access to PetroChina’s oil processing facilities, transport, and oil sales infrastructure.

Investors will eagerly await further updates, and the company has committed to providing further updates as its 2024 work programme progresses.

The FTSE 100 surged on Monday after President Joe Biden withdrew as the Democratic candidate for November’s general election.

Biden had been under pressure to withdraw after a series of blunders raised questions about his ability to carry out his duties in a second term. There were also major concerns he would even make it through the election campaign without further embarrassment, effectively handing the job to Donald Trump.

London’s leading index was 0.8% higher at the time of writing as investors cheered the removal of the ‘will he, won’t he’ uncertainty surrounding Biden continuing the election campaign.

“The market appears to have welcomed Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race, given how futures prices imply a decent opening for Wall Street. However, there is still a lot of uncertainty until the new Democratic candidate is confirmed. That means we could see heightened volatility over the next few weeks, with assets quickly changing direction depending on the latest comments from Washington,” Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell said.

“Vice President Kamala Harris being endorsed by Biden helps to avoid any panic on markets for now, given she provides continuity and experience supporting the current President. That means the focus for markets in the near-term is likely to be investors reassessing any previous trades they made when it looked like Donald Trump would get back into power.”

The FTSE 100’s gains were broad, with 87 constituents trading higher at the time of writing.

Rentokil Initial was the top gainer after the pest control company became the latest UK-listed company to be targeted for a takeover by a private equity group. Rentokil Initial shares were 9% at the time of writing.

The bottom of the leaderboard was dominated by falling airlines after Ryanair reported a surprise miss in earnings estimates. Airlines and the rest of the travel sector have been enjoying a wave of optimism around the resilience of holiday makers during the cost of living crisis. Ryanair cast doubt over this today and sent a shock wave through the entire sector, sending Easyjet down 8% and IAG off by 3%.

“Ryanair disappoints as the outlook over the key summer period looks weak,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“First quarter profit after tax of €360mn was well below what markets expected as ticket prices plummeted. The outlook was poor, too, with Ryanair expecting lower prices as peak summer travel kicks in. There will be knock-on effects to the wider sector from this, though it’s a little unclear whether the likes of easyJet are facing issues at quite this scale.”

CleanTech Lithium has announced the completion of the first stage of production at its Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) pilot plant in Copiapó, Chile, reporting impressive recovery rates and high-grade lithium production.

The DLE pilot plant operated for 384 hours, completing 14 cycles and producing 88 cubic metres of concentrated eluate. This volume is equivalent to approximately one tonne of lithium carbonate. The DLE adsorbent achieved a lithium recovery rate of 95% from the brine, with a total recovery (including adsorption and desorption) of 88%.

Notably, the process demonstrated high impurity rejection rates, resulting in a low-impurity eluate suitable for downstream conversion. The concentrated eluate is being shipped to Conductive Energy in Chicago, USA, for conversion into battery-grade lithium carbonate.

Preliminary test work on a 200-litre sample of the eluate has yielded promising results. Multiple samples of lithium carbonate with 99.75% purity were produced, confirming the process’s efficiency and repeatability in achieving battery-grade lithium.

The news is a major boost CleanTech Lithium’s Laguna Verde project and investors who will be pleased to see the pilot project open the doors to the next stage of development in CleanTech’s Chile operations. The company plans to provide large test samples of lithium carbonate to potential offtake partners for product qualification. A reserve report for Laguna Verde is scheduled for completion in October 2024, pending the finalisation of a re-injection well in September.

“We are very pleased by these results as it shows we can produce battery-grade lithium with low impurities from our Laguna Verde brine project. Working with our partners on the downstream process, Forward Water and Conductive Energy, we can now demonstrate the entire DLE process from brine to final lithium product,” said Steve Kesler, Executive Chairman and Interim CEO, of CleanTech Lithium.

“The optimised downstream process will now be applied to the initial volume of 88m³ of concentrated eluate, or approximately 1 tonne of LCE, produced from the first stage of production from our DLE pilot plant. This will produce significant test sample volumes of battery-grade lithium carbonate for commencement of testing with potential strategic partners. This is important whilst the Chilean government is reviewing the feasibility of lithium projects to identify the most advanced companies in Chile and if they are to reach their target of having three to four new lithium projects in development by 2026.”