Capital Metals shares jumped on Tuesday after the company confirmed Sri Lanka had expelled a minister at the heart of the decision to cancel Capital Metals mining licenses.

Capital Metals shares were 58% higher at the time of writing on Tuesday.

The Supreme Court in Sri Lanka has determined the expulsion of Naseer Ahamad from the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress to be legally valid and he will lose his parliamentary seat and position as Minister of Environment overseeing the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau.

Ahamad was the minister involved in cancelling Capital Metals’ Industrial Mining Licences. Both Mr. Ahamad and the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau Chairman he appointed are now under investigation for alleged misappropriation.

Capital Metals is disputing the cancelled licences and the expulsion signals a potential shift in approach by Sri Lankan authorities to mining activities.

Greg Martyr, Executive Chairman of Capital Metals, commented:

“This is a positive development resulting in the removal from office of the minister we believe to be primarily responsible for the illegal interference with our licences. This, together with the recently approved change in mineral licensing procedures, which transfers certain responsibilities to the Board of Investment, should bode well for our situation but also more generally for the country as it takes steps to improve governance.

“We continue to await the outcome of our statutory appeal against the attempted cancellation of our licences which was heard by the Secretary of the Ministry of Environment two weeks ago and are confident of a positive outcome.”

The FTSE 100 closed flat on Monday after a weekend of despicable violence in Israel spilt over into financial markets.

The human tragedy unfolding in Israel and Gaza Strop has heightened geo-political concerns and provided support for oil prices.

Brent oil was trading up around 3% at $86.98 per barrel. Brent has been trading closer to $100 in recent weeks. Elevated oil prices feed through to higher share price for BP and Shell who were central to the FTSE 100’s rise on Monday.

“The FTSE 100 was steady on Monday after the shocking events in the Middle East over the weekend, with the index supported by its oil heavyweights BP and Shell,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“As it nearly always does, an escalation of tensions in the region has helped push up oil prices. This is inevitable given how much of the world’s crude reserves and production are centred there.”

London’s listed airline companies were among the top fallers on Monday with FTSE 100 IAG sinking 5%. Fears are that prolonged war in Israel will dampen tourist demand across Europe as higher fuel prices erode profits.

Elsewhere, Aviva shares continued to benefit from takeover speculation after reports last week the insurer was being eyed by multiple parties.

Helium One shares fell again on Monday after the company announced last week their operations in Tanzania had suffered a setback.

Helium explorer Helium One Global has suspended drilling at its Tai-3 well in Tanzania after a component failure occurred in the Predator 220 drilling rig on Wednesday evening last week.

Helium One shares were down 1% to 4.65p at the time of writing on Monday.

The necessary repairs will require mechanical parts to be brought in from outside the country, causing an estimated two-week delay before drilling can resume.

The rig malfunction happened just as Helium One was starting to drill the 8.5″ hole section, following the successful installation of 13 3/8″ casing. Prior to the failure, drilling had been on schedule and was expected to reach the target depth this weekend.

Once repaired, the company is confident drilling can restart per the original program. The Tai-3 well is Helium One’s first in Tanzania as it explores the potential for major helium resources in the country.

The Tanzania programme had been delayed earlier in the year after the company faced difficulties securing a drill rig.

Metro Bank shares jumped on Monday as the banking institution avoided catastrophe by raising £925m in debt and equity to help bolster its balance sheet.

The £925m was substantially more than the £600m amount reported by the Times last with £325m equity raised and £600m debt.

The equity raise was led by Spaldy, Metro Bank’s largest shareholder who contributed £103m to the raise. Splady is now a Metro Bank controlling shareholder.

“Another crisis in the banking sector has been averted… for now. Metro Bank’s fundraising agreement is important on two counts. First, it avoids any panic and a run on the bank, something that could have feasibly happened if it had not raised a significant amount of cash over the weekend to shore up its balance sheet. Second, it provides breathing space for the company to conclude talks on asset sales,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“The value of the company’s bonds and shares shot up on the fundraising plan as they were previously priced as if the company was in serious trouble. The fundraising now removes a lot of the risks, yet existing shareholders who do not participate in the equity raise will suffer significant dilution. Bondholders also get a big haircut.

“The past week will have been extremely damaging for the company’s reputation and there will undoubtedly be customers who may still prefer to shift their money to a different bank.”

Metro Bank shares were 26% higher at the time of writing on Monday.

On Friday, those hoping for a quiet end to the week were sorely disappointed by reports of blockbuster M&A activity, and a bumper Non-Farm Payrolls report that sparked sharp swings in stocks and bonds.

Friday had started with reports of takeover interest in Aviva, and in the US, ExxonMobil was reported to be in talks to acquire peer Pioneer in a $60bn deal.

Aviva shares soared in London, and Pioneer jumped in the US premarket as a sense of optimism crept back into equities. The FTSE 100 rose in early trade.

However, at 1.30pm in London, the monthly US jobs report was released and the optimism that punctuated Friday morning quickly evaporated.

The US economy added a bumper 336,000 jobs in September – much higher than the 170,000 predicted by economists. Such a hot reading of the US economy immediately sent bond yields higher, and equities dumped.

“The stronger jobs data consolidates the Fed’s position to keep monetary policy restrictive, and it puts greater weight on the likelihood of another rate hike before year-end,” said Daniela Hathorn, Senior Market Analyst, Capital.com.

Fears earlier in the week that US interest rates would remain elevated for a prolonged period were replaced with fears interest rates would have to rise again before staying elevated.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.1% to 7,442 at the time of writing. The Index had touched highs of 7,496 earlier in the session.

Aviva was the FTSE 100’s top riser after the Times reported multiple parties were eyeing the insurer. Aviva rose as much as 7% on speculation a bid was on the cards.

“Is Aviva the next FTSE 100 takeover target? The market certainly seems to think so, judging by the 7% share price jump on Friday. Chatter that foreign players Allianz, Intact Financial and Tryg are among the potential interested parties has fired up the shares, hot on the heels of a bullish broker note earlier this week,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“What might they see in Aviva? Well, the business is forecast to have strong free cash flow and excess capital and its valuation is cheap. It has slimmed down in recent years to focus on the stronger parts of the group and there is now an opportunity to increase its position in bulk annuities which looks like a more prosperous market thanks to higher gilt yields.”

Aviva shares were sharply higher on Friday after the Times reported multiple parties were circling the insurer after a prolonged period of disappointing share price returns.

Aviva will look good value to potential bidders after the company’s valuation failed to recover fully from the pandemic despite strong underlying performance.

“Is Aviva the next FTSE 100 takeover target? The market certainly seems to think so, judging by the 7% share price jump on Friday. Chatter that foreign players Allianz, Intact Financial and Tryg are among the potential interested parties has fired up the shares, hot on the heels of a bullish broker note earlier this week,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“What might they see in Aviva? Well, the business is forecast to have strong free cash flow and excess capital and its valuation is cheap. It has slimmed down in recent years to focus on the stronger parts of the group and there is now an opportunity to increase its position in bulk annuities which looks like a more prosperous market thanks to higher gilt yields.

“Activist investor Cevian Capital is no longer on the shareholder register causing mischief and Aviva is left as one of many stocks on the UK market looking unloved but still offering the potential for long-term value generation.”

Aviva shares were 7% higher at the time of writing in London.

ExxonMobil is in advanced talks over the acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources for up to $60 billion, according to reports Wall Street Journal.

The pre-market trading value of Pioneer was up 11.70% to $240.22. Exxon shares dropped 1.7% in the pre-market on Friday. 

News on the deal first appeared in Wall Street Journal on Thursday, when the paper reported on the high likelihood of the deal being done in the coming days.

Pioneer Natural Resources is the third biggest oil producer in the Permian Basin and the tie-up would create an oil behemoth controlling substantial oil production in the region.

The deal is to be the biggest one since the 1991 purchase of Exxon for $81 billion. Exxon is the top U.S. oil producer and its market value was $436 billion at the time of writing.