The latest Market Talks covering Energy markets. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.

0923 GMT - The euro's brief drop below the key $1.13 level earlier was driven by a strong dollar but a surge in European gas prices didn't help either, ING says. "Negative terms of trade effects from higher energy prices are depressing the fair value of the EUR," ING analysts say. European gas prices jumped after a German court delayed the certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline on Tuesday. EUR/USD falls 0.1% to 1.1312, having reached a 16-month low of 1.1264 earlier, according to FactSet. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)

0920 GMT - The FTSE 100 Index drops 0.2%, or 12 points to 7314 as losses for utilities and industrial stocks offset gains for miners and accountancy software firm Sage Group. Steam-systems group Spirax-Sarco Engineering drops 6% despite saying it continues to expect record revenue, profit and operating margin for 2021. Power generator SSE is also down 4% after saying it would sell assets and cut its dividend to help fund investment. Still, Sage rises 2% after increasing its dividend. Miner and commodity trader Glencore also gains 1.2% after saying it would sell its Ernest Henry Mining copper-gold mine in Australia. (philip.waller@wsj.com)

0856 GMT January Brent, as shown on the 30-minute chart, remains in a consolidation phase after failing to post a sustainable rebound. Currently it is trading at levels around the descending 20-period moving average, which stands below the 50-period one. Immediate support is located at $81.50 (around the lower Bollinger band). A return to this level will maintain the intraday bias as bearish, and trigger a further decline toward $80.70 on the downside (around the low of November 15). Only a bounce back to the key resistance at $82.90 will bring about a bullish reversal. January Brent is trading at $82.02 a barrel. [This piece contains the opinions of Trading Central and does not constitute personalized investment advice or form part of any invitation or inducement to buy or sell any security. The author has been prohibited by Trading Central from purchasing or otherwise directly or indirectly acquiring any direct or indirect beneficial ownership of any instruments or markets for which Trading Central or its affiliates issues recommendations. To read more, visit bit.ly/1MehCU9.] (analysts-europe@tradingcentral.com)

0815 GMT - Shares in SSE fall 5.1% after announcing a GBP12.5 billion investment plan over five years to 2026, up 65% per year from the previous plan. To help fund it, the energy company intends to sell a 25% stake in both its transmission and distribution businesses, RBC Capital Markets says. In addition, the company's dividend will be rebased to 60 pence in fiscal 2024, with annual growth of at least 5%, RBC notes. "SSE has gone for the tried-and-tested route of asset disposals, and has confirmed market fears that this would come with a dividend cut." (jaime.llinares@wsj.com)

0752 GMT - Islamic State Central Africa Province's latest attacks in the Ugandan capital illustrate a broader deterioration in security, raising fears about the capacity of the coffee-growing nation to counter terror threats, says Ed Hobey-Hamsher, an analyst at Verisk Maplecroft. At least three people were killed and dozens injured in the attacks, claimed by Islamic State, shaking a nation where oil companies are currently implementing multibillion projects to commercialize some of Africa largest undeveloped crude oil reserves. "The coordination of three suicide attacks demonstrates greater capacity than the low-level incidents in October," he says. "Uganda's role as the leading troop contributing country to the African Union Mission in Somalia mean it will remain a highly attractive target for regional Islamist militants." (Nicholas.Bariyo@wsj.com; @Nicholasbariyo)

0523 GMT - Frencken Group could be pressured by a higher cost environment in 4Q, Maybank Kim Eng says, downgrading the stock to hold from buy. Component shortages and supply-chain issues have caused some of the company's clients to lower their guidance, Maybank says, noting that this may cap the tech-solutions provider's potential to generate more sales in 2H. "While we are neutral in the short term, we remain optimistic about Frencken's long term potential with a breadth of new products with stronger value," it adds. Maybank cuts its target price to S$2.50 from S$2.63 after lowering its EPS forecasts for Frencken. Shares are 2.1% lower at S$2.35. (justina.lee@wsj.com)