National Grid H1 operating profits up 50%, WH Smith swings to FY profit

London pre-open

The FTSE 100-was being called to open 26.5 points lower ahead of the bell on Thursday after wrapping up the previous session 0.14% weaker at 7,296.25.

Stocks to watch

Utilities company National Grid said on Thursday that interim operating profits from continuing profits had shot up 50% on an underlying basis to £2.11bn, reflecting the "strength and resilience" of the business.

National Grid said underlying pre-tax profits had risen 47% to £1.44bn, while earnings per share surged 193% on a statutory basis to 30.8p.

Book and stationery retailer WH Smith swung to an annual profit as a rebound in air and rail travel boosted revenues, with that momentum continuing into the new fiscal year.

On Thursday, WH Smith posted pre-tax earnings of £63.0m compared with a loss of £116.0m a year ago when Covid-19 travel restrictions were in place.

Newspaper round-up

Rishi Sunak's government has been warned that Britain's creaking public services will require at least £43.0bn a year in additional funding just to "stand still" amid the fallout from soaring inflation. The Trades Union Congress said next week's autumn statement needed to protect both public services and workers' pay from the highest rates of inflation since the early 1980s to avoid a further collapse in the quality of support for health, social care, education, justice, and the environment. – Guardian

House prices stalled last month after more than two years of growth as a sharp rise in mortgage rates fuelled caution among buyers, according to Britain's official surveyors' body. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors also predicted that rents will be 4% higher in a year's time due to an imbalance between strong tenant demand and the supply of homes to let. – Guardian

British households could be paid to help prevent blackouts in France this winter, under plans drawn up by National Grid. The company in charge of keeping Britain's lights on is prepared to ask households to cut their energy usage so that more power can be exported to the continent to avert blackouts there. – Telegraph

A shareholder vote on Rio Tinto's $3.3bn takeover of Turquoise Hill Resources has been suspended indefinitely amid concerns over arrangements that could lead to some investors being paid a higher price than others. The FTSE 100 miner is seeking to buy the 49% of the Canadian-listed Turquoise Hill that it does not already own, giving it control of the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia, in which Turquoise Hill owns a 66% stake. – The Times

A biopharmaceuticals business that develops drugs licensed by a British medical charity is to list in the United States via a so-called Spac or blank-cheque deal. The privately owned Conduit Pharmaceuticals plans to merge with Murphy Canyon Acquisition Corp, a Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company, with a market valuation of $850.0m, including cash of about $150.0m. – The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks were still in the red at the close on Wednesday as investors continued to hold their breath for clear results of the US midterm elections.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.95% at 32,513.94, while the S&P 500 lost 2.08% to 3,748.57 and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 2.48% at 10,353.18.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com