Glencore on track for record FY performance, Tesco Q1 sales slip

London pre-open

The FTSE 100 was being called to open 33.5 points higher ahead of the bell on Friday after tumbling 3.14% to 7,044.98 in the previous session.

Stocks to watch

Natural resources company Glencore said on Friday that its annual portfolio mix adjustment guidance was expected to increase dramatically as a result of "unprecedented dislocation" in energy markets, putting the group firmly on track for a record full-year performance.

Glencore stated that its February full-year portfolio mix adjustment guidance of $32.8 per tonne was expected to increase to a range of roughly $82-86 per tonne for the first half of 2022. Government royalties also increased "significantly" when compared to the FTSE 100-listed group's prior cost expectations, which together with higher input costs, were now expected to result in an increase in its reported average FOB thermal unit cost to approximately $75-$78 per tonne, compared to earlier guidance of $59.3 per tonne.

UK supermarket chain Tesco said it was seeing early indications of changing customer behaviour as a result of the cost of living crisis and inflationary environment as it reported a fall in first quarter sales.

Tesco said on Friday that UK like-for-like sales for the three months to 28 May had fallen 1.5% to £9.8bn. On a group basis, sales were up 2%, boosted by a strong performance at its Booker division, where revenue rose 19.4% to £2bn.

Newspaper round-up

Gatwick airport will reduce its summer capacity to ward off potential chaos, after dozens of last-minute cancellations wrecked the travel plans of holidaymakers over the platinum jubilee and half-term holiday. London's second busiest airport will limit the number of daily take-offs and landings to 850 in August – about 50 more than the average in early June, but more than 10% below its pre-pandemic maximum. - Guardian

Elon Musk met directly with employees at Twitter on Thursday for the first time since he reached a deal to acquire the company in April, focusing on "freedom of speech" in an online address. The billionaire had moved to purchase Twitter for $44.0bn in April but has since been critical of the company, threatening to put the deal on hold over concerns about bots, or fake accounts, that exist on the app. - Guardian

Housebuilders will need more than bullish rhetoric to budge investors — the sector is priced for catastrophe. A rise in interest rates yesterday to a 13-year high and warnings that inflation could reach an eye-watering 11% this year has caused the market to dig in its heels. For Bellway, the prospect of home ownership being pushed further out of reach by a lack of affordability caused a sell-off that has left the shares trading at their lowest since September 2020. In fact, at just over five times forward earnings, the FTSE 250 constituent is priced almost as feebly as the day of the first lockdown and close to its cheapest in a decade. - The Times

Businesses should give greater opportunities to those "at the edges" of the labour market to help tackle inequality, a senior minister told leaders at The Times CEO Summit. Michael Gove, the secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, called on chief executives to "open up opportunities to those people who have been overlooked and undervalued in the past". - The Times

Drivers should be spared road charges during rail strikes to prevent cities turning into "ghost towns", the chairman of the AA has said. The UK's biggest strikes in 30 years are expected to cut off entire towns and cities as they shut down 80% of Britain's rail services next week. Parking charges, congestion and clean air zones, as well as unnecessary road works, should be halted to ease the burden of thousands who will be forced to drive into work, Edmund King told The Telegraph. - Telegraph

US close

Wall Street stocks tumbled all the way to the close on Thursday after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by 75 basis points overnight.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 2.42% at 29,927.07, while the S&P 500 lost 3.25% to 3,666.77 and the Nasdaq Composite was off 4.08% at 10,646.10.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com