OSLO, June 6 (Reuters) - ** Infront ASA announces intention to launch an initial public offering (IPO) of its ordinary shares and to apply for a listing on the Oslo Bourse** Infront says it is a financial technology firm that "provides a modern and user-friendly information and trading terminal, based on a market leading technology fed by both in-house and external financial market data"** Infront...Read More

DUBAI, June 6 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's central bank has advised banks in the kingdom not to trade with Qatari banks in Qatari riyals, banking sources told Reuters on Tuesday.The guidance from the central bank came on Monday evening, after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed diplomatic and transport ties with Doha, accusing it of supporting terrorism.The Saudi central bank...Read More

June 6 (Reuters) - Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index powered ahead on Tuesday, touching the 26,000 point-mark, and closed at a fresh 23-month high, aided by continued strength in property shares. The Hang Seng index rose 0.5 percent, to end at 25,997.14 points, while the China Enterprises Index gained 0.1 percent, to 10,606.26 points.Chinese money inflows helped property stocks surge.The prope...Read More

* IPO of food delivery service expected in coming weeks* IPO seen valuing company at up to 4 bln euros* New shares worth 450 mln euros to be issued* IPO seen as a boost for Rocket Internet (Adds comments from CEO, background)By Tom Sims and Emma ThomassonBERLIN/FRANKFURT, June 6 (Reuters) - Online food takeaway firm Delivery Hero is preparing a flotation that could value one of Europe's largest in...Read More

(Recasts with details and share price fall)June 6 (Reuters) - Britain's AO World warned growth in its home market could slow "significantly" on Tuesday, as a wider full-year loss at the online retailer sparked a sharp share price fall.AO World's stock was the biggest percentage loser on the FTSE 250 midcap index , with shares in the white goods retailer falling as much as 10 percent to 130 pence,...Read More

MOSCOW, June 6 (Reuters) - Russia's consumer price growth is set to accelerate in coming months but this is unlikely to prevent inflation from slowing to the central banks' target of 4 percent this year, analysts at the central bank said on Tuesday.In a monthly report on market trends, the central bank's analysts predicted higher inflationary pressure in the second half of the year due to cold wea...Read More

JOHANNESBURG, June 6 (Reuters) - South Africa's cash-strapped utility Eskom will seek power price increases of nearly 20 percent when it approaches the electricity regulator at end of the month, the BusinessDay newspaper reported on Tuesday citing confidential documents.Eskom, the sole power supplier to Africa's most developed economy, was granted a 2.2 percent tariff increase by the National Ener...Read More

OSLO, June 6 (Reuters) - Qatari aluminium firm Qatalum may start direct shipments of metals from its plant to unblock exports halted by a regional diplomatic row, a spokesman for Norway's Norsk Hydro said.Until now, the aluminium has been exported by ships from Qatar to the Jebel Ali port in the United Arab Emirates, where it was transferred to larger vessels for exports to customers in Asia, Euro...Read More

(Recasts on fall in copper prices, also updates other prices)MELBOURNE/SINGAPORE, June 6 (Reuters) - London copper prices dipped for a third consecutive session on Tuesday, weighed down by signs of slowing growth in China and the United States. FUNDAMENTALS* COPPER: London Metal Exchange copper had dropped 1.1 percent to $5,564 a tonne by 0731 GMT, following 0.7-percent losses in the previous ses...Read More

(Corrects headline to say Nordic Capital, Avista raise 805 mln pounds, not Convatec)June 6 (Reuters) - Convatec Group Plc * Nordic Capital, Avista sold aggregate of 250 million ordinary shares in Convatec at 322 pence per share, raising gross proceeds of ?805 million* Nordic Capital and Avista announce that they have elected to increase size of placing due to strong investor demandSource text fo...Read More

(Updates with share price move)JOHANNESBURG, June 6 (Reuters) - South African information technology firm Datatec Ltd said on Tuesday it will sell its Westcon-Comstor Americas business to Synnex Corp for up to $800 million, sending its shares up 25 percent.Westcon-Comstor, a distributor of technology and services for network security and data centres mostly in the United States, accounts for more...Read More

* Third and final offer rejected by bank* Challenger banks ripe for consolidation (Adds details, share movement, background)By Noor Zainab HussainJune 6 (Reuters) - British challenger bank Shawbrook Group Plc said it rejected a raised and final 868 million pounds ($1.12 billion)offer from private equity groups trying to take control of the lender."Independent directors believe that the final offer...Read More

June 6 (Reuters) - Foreign investors stepped up their investments in Asian equities in May, with inflows into seven markets including Taiwan, South Korea and India rising over 25 percent from a month earlier.Among the seven countries, South Korea received the highest amount of foreign investment, of about $1.7 billion, taking the tally for the year to nearly $8 billion, while Taiwan got inflows of...Read More

DUBAI, June 6 (Reuters) - The Qatari riyal fell against the U.S. dollar in the spot and forwards markets early on Tuesday because of concern about the long-term economic impact on Qatar after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates severed ties with it.The dollar was bid at 3.6470 riyal in the spot market, its lowest level since June 2016, according to Thomson Reuters data. The currency is pegge...Read More

SHANGHAI, June 6 (Reuters) - China stocks ended higher on Tuesday, with consumer and financial shares lending support as investors pondered the impact of new regulations on initial public offerings and ahead of a flurry of economic data.The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.7 percent, to 3,492.88 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.3 percent to 3,102.13 points. China's economy is likel...Read More

* UAE's Jebel Ali port closed to Qatar shipments* Norsk Hydro looking at alternative options* Shares in Norsk Hydro down 2 pct (Adds background, analyst, share)By Joachim Dagenborg and Terje SolsvikOSLO, June 6 (Reuters) - Qatar's isolation by top Arab nations has already hit aluminium exports from a plant part-owned by Norway's Norsk Hydro which warned on Tuesday it would take time to restart the...Read More

By Rafael Nam and Suvashree ChoudhuryMUMBAI, June 6 (Reuters) - India's central bank will likely strike a less hawkish tone while leaving interest rates unchanged at a policy meeting on Wednesday, according to analysts, as inflation is running well below forecasts, and the economy has slowed more than expected.A Reuters poll showed 56 of 60 analysts expected the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) monet...Read More

(Updates to close)June 6 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell on Tuesday with financial and material stocks leading the decline, while the central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged, as widely expected, at its June policy review.The S&P/ASX 200 index ended 1.52 percent, or 87.367 points, lower at 5,667.5, its lowest close since Feb. 9.Shares in the 'Big 4' banks fell between 1.4 percen...Read More

* RBA holds rates at 1.5 pct on optimism for outlook* Q1 economic growth seen around 0.2 pct q/q, 1.6 pct y/y* Current account deficit of A$3.1 bln misses forecasts* Net exports trim 0.7 ppt from Q1 GDP as bad weather hits volumes By Wayne Cole and Swati PandeySYDNEY, June 6 (Reuters) - Australia's central bank held interest rates for a 10th month on Tuesday, taking an optimistic tone on the econ...Read More

* Investors cautious ahead of coming major events* Peso falls on benign May inflation data* Baht gains after relaxation of FX measures (Adds text, updates prices)By PatturajaMurugaboopathy June 6 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies edged up against the dollar on Tuesday, though the same global developments that hurt the greenback also reduced risk appetites for cautious investors. Against the yen ,...Read More