EasyJet's load factor descends, Auto Trader directors' bumper sale
London open
A 20-point rise in the FTSE 100 is expected on Wednesday morning as investors recoup some of the 73.49 points lost the previous day.
Stocks to watch
Budget carrier easyJet increased passenger numbers in March, but its load factor decreased as hundreds of flights were cancelled due to French industrial action. A total of 5.7m passengers flew during the month, up 4.3% on a year earlier but the load factor in March was 91.3%, down 1.3 percentage points on March 2015, while its rolling 12-month load factor of 91.5% was an improvement of 0.6 percentage points.
Auto Trader's chief executive and finance director have together sold £32.3m worth of shares in the company. The pair made the sale at a price of 370p after the expiry of an agreed lock-up period from the FTSE 250 group's flotation a year ago at 235p.
Newspaper round-up
The businessman at the centre of efforts to salvage the UK’s biggest steel factory has laid out his demands, calling on the UK government for sweeping subsidies if he is to take over the Port Talbot plant. Sanjeev Gupta, founder of commodities group Liberty House, said for him to buy Tata Steel’s operations — and save more than 3,000 jobs — the government would have to remove pension and environmental liabilities for the Port Talbot plant. He has also called for lower power costs for steel plants. – Financial Times
A White House tax crackdown designed to put a halt to Pfizer’s planned $160bn takeover of Allergan has provoked fury from foreign multinationals with operations in the US. Barack Obama stepped up the offensive on Tuesday championing new proposals to deter “inversion” deals — such as Pfizer-Allergan — that companies use to move to low-tax jurisdictions, accusing them of exploiting “one of the most insidious tax loopholes out there”. – Financial Times
A tweak to new market rules has raised the stakes in the London Stock Exchange’s bid to merge with its German rival Deutsche Boerse. Analysts said the decision by the European Securities and Markets Authority to bring forward rules on open access puts further pressure on Deutsche Boerse to seal a deal. – Telegraph
US close
US stocks ended lower on Tuesday as global growth concerns undermined investor sentiment following a batch of mixed data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both ended 1% lower.
Data from the Commerce Department showed the US trade deficit rose 2.6% to $47.1bn (£33.31bn) in February as a rebound in exports was offset by an increase in imports. Economists had expected a deficit of $46.2bn.
Service industry activity figures from ISM and Markit were a lot cheerier, however, particularly when compared to soft Eurozone data released earlier in the day.