Lookers steps up a gear, Diploma strengthens in cables

London open

City of London traders were calling the FTSE 100 around nine points higher on Wednesday morning, snapping the previous two days' falls.

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Record performance in motors and parts drove a year of growth at Lookers in 2015, with revenue rising 20% during the calendar year to £3.65bn. The FTSE 250 firm's operating profit increased 12% to £85.9m, with adjusted profit before tax going up by 11% to £72.1m. Earnings per share were up 7.1% to 12.88p, and adjusted earnings per share grew 12.7% to 15.24p, with Lookers' board proposing a final dividend of 2.05p per share.

The Restaurant Group served up a solid set of results for 2015, but has seen the challenging trading conditions continue from the end of last year into 2016. After 10 weeks trading in 2016 total sales are up by 6% but like-for-like sales are down by 1.5%.

Diploma has acquired Cablecraft for a maximum net consideration of £26m. The FTSE 250 group, which supplies specialised technical products and services, said the deal would be immediately earnings enhancing and will be reported as part of the Controls Sector activities. Dunstable-based Cablecraft is a supplier of cable accessory products which are used to identify, connect, secure and protect electrical cables.

Newspaper round-up

Tesco is planning to take advantage of the fallout from Hutchison’s £10.25bn takeover of O2 with a big push in the UK mobile market, seeking to expand sales outside the tough groceries market. The supermarket, which has had a 50:50 joint venture with O2 since 2003, is aiming to buy the portion of Tesco Mobile it does not already own and secure a long-term deal with Hutchison for capacity on the merged 3 and O2 networks, according to industry sources. – Telegraph

After helping pensioners to use the internet “over a cuppa” and assisting graduates with polishing their CVs, Barclays is now attempting to boost businesses by offering digital equipment such as 3D printers in some branches. The bank is planning to open up to 20 “labs” this year designed to provide space and high-tech equipment for local businesses, entrepreneurs, universities and schools. – Financial Times

Plans to build an £18 billion nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Somerset could be halted by the industry regulator over safety concerns, The Times has learnt. The nuclear watchdog is yet to give final approval to the EDF-led project amid increasing worries about the reactor’s steel dome. “We have to give permission at every level,” a spokeswoman for the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) said. “It could still not go ahead.” – The Times

US close

US stocks closed in the red on Tuesday as oil prices declined and poor Chinese data added to worries about the nation's slowdown.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.64%, the S&P 500 shed 1.12% and the Nasdaq slid 1.26%.

Oil prices reversed earlier gains, with West Texas Intermediate crude falling 4.4% to $36.29 per barrel and Brent declining 3.4% to $39.46 per barrel at 2116 GMT.

Goldman Sachs said the recent surge in commodity prices was not sustainable and the rout was not over: “In the current supply-driven market, demand hasn’t really changed, it takes lower prices to push and keep supply below demand to create a deficit. As a result, higher prices are much harder to sustain in a supply-driven market since supply is primed to return with higher prices.”