oil and mining stocks drop as crude and commodity prices retreat amid cautious optimism ahead of russiaukraine talks anglo american rio tinto bhp glencore fresnillo bp and shell are among the biggest ftse 100 fallers though russian gold miner polymetal international gains 6 on hopes of easing tensions brent crude sheds 37 to 1084 a barrel and gold silver and base metal prices lose ground gold prices are hedging down during early monday trading as the flight to safetythat saw the price of the precious metal rise above 2000 during the previous weekshows signs of abating activtrades says the market mood appears to have improved with hopes that negotiations between russia and ukraine may open the way for a deescalation the brokerage firm says hsbc holdings plc said monday that it has reached an inprinciple agreement for the sale of its greek retail bank to pancreta bank sa as it continues to refocus on its asian businesses turquoise hill resources ltd said monday it will establish a special committee to review rio tinto plcs offer to acquire the remaining 49 of the company rio tinto plc said monday that it has made a nonbinding proposal to acquire the remaining 49 shareholding in turquoise hill resources ltd the holding company of the oyu tolgoi coppergold project in mongolia nightcap plc on monday reported a widened loss for the first half of the fiscal year although its revenue and underlying earnings improved significantly driven by acquisitions cake box says fy 2022 performance seen in line with views new cfo coo appointed cake box holdings plc said monday that its performance in the second half of fiscal 2022 continued to be strong and its set of results for the full year is expected to be in line with expectations craneware plc said monday that pretax profit for the first half of fiscal 2022 fell due to higher costs and that it increased the interim dividend payout fonix mobile plc said monday that pretax profit and revenue rose in the first half of fiscal 2022 and that although it expects the first half to be slightly stronger due to some seasonality in the trade of its customers the underlying runrate remained strong bodycote plc on monday reported an improved profit for 2021 reflecting a recovery in general industrial markets hostmore plc on monday reported a significantly narrowed pretax loss for fiscal 2022 and said that neil johnson is set to retire as chairman of the board and will be replaced by gavin manson mincon group plc said monday that 2021 pretax profit rose as revenue increased and that the momentum in the second half of the year continued into 2022 artemis resources ltd on monday reported a narrowed pretax loss for 2021 and a decline in revenue as a result of higher costs mc mining ltd reported monday a narrowed pretax loss for the first half of fiscal 2022 after seeing a significant rise in revenue for the period stelrad group plc on monday reported a higher pretax profit for 2021 driven by production transfers to lowcost turkish facility and said it expects 2022 in line with views as it declared a dividend payout tracsis acquisition of railcomm extends its presence to north america 1225 gmt  tracsis acquiring railcomm for a maximum consideration of 142 million delivers on its existing strategy to extend its rail software footprint and addressable markets by providing direct access to a longestablished network for large number of north american rail clients finncap says following the acquisition tracsis will be able to progressively market its existing portfolio of rail products and services with an initial focus on its remote condition monitoring product the uk brokerage says finncap has a 1325 target price shares are up 39 at 935 pence 1209 gmt  phoenix group changing its flatdividend policy to a payout that is sustainable and grows over time shows the company is confident that newbusiness cash generation will remain significant peel hunt says europes largest consolidator of life insurance and pensions posted cash generation for 2021 of gbp172 billion and increased its interim dividend to 248 pence a share the uk brokerage sees phoenix broadly meeting its threeyear guidance and longterm cashgeneration targets driven by new business growth and eventual cash release from new business peel hunt has a hold recommendation on the stock with a target price of 690 pence 1201 gmt  astrazeneca getting a complete response letter from the us food  drug administration for asthma drug fasenras potential new indication in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps is disappointing bryan garnier says although the fda asked for additional clinical data it isnt clear if a new clinical trial will have to be conducted the european investment bank says still the pharmaceutical company should realize its first sales for tezspire this yearexpected to be around 150 millionwhich should partly offset fasenras loss of sales opportunity a disappointment but not a disaster since this indication shouldnt have been a major driver for sales growth of this drug with sales of 14 billion in 2022 estimates the bank says shares are up 13 at 9395 pence 1149 gmt  bodycotes nearterm cost pressures could see small downside to earnings consensus this year rbc capital markets says after the company noted that inflation is expected to continue into early 2022 however the uk provider of heattreatment and thermalprocessing services also said that it has been passing on costs for the last 10 years in addition bodycotes 2021 financial results were slightly below expectations with ebita of gbp948 million missing the gbp96 million consensus the canadian bank says while strong cost control is supportive its endmarket mix notably aero and auto means its recovery has been somewhat slower and bumpier than others in our coverage rbc says 1119 gmt  shares in rio tinto fall 33 after the company outlined a 27 billion offer to buy out the minority shareholders in turquoise hill the holding company for the oyu tolgoi copper project in mongolia the move makes strategic sense for the mining group as it tidies ownership and gives it a stronger position in the copper sector aj bell says however the fact that the share price is down on the news would suggest that the market is starting to worry that rio tinto will overpay to get what it wants the investment platform says most of the big miners overpaid for growth in the last commodities boom which peaked about 10 years ago aj bell notes wizz air most directly exposed to the war in ukraine 1104 gmt  wizz air has the most direct exposure to the current geopolitical crisis in ukraine compared to peers and significantly so in its core central and eastern european market citi says although it has capped its fuelcost exposure for the next four months with zero cost hedges given the current high and volatile environment analysts at citi dont see this giving any respite in terms of higher fuel costs as its peers have hedged at least 50 of fuel requirements in 2022 furthermore pricing pressure continues as wizz stimulates demand through lower fares with analysts believing pricing in fiscal 2023 will be below fiscal 2020s levels citi says citi rates the stock sell and lowers the target price to gbp23 from gbp35