Pennon Group profit slides in first half, Hargreaves Lansdown chair steps down
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open 19 points lower on Wednesday, having closed down 0.07% on Tuesday at 7,455.24.
Stocks to watch
Pennon Group reported a 5.4% increase in underlying revenue in its half-year results on Wednesday, to £448.6m, due to inflationary tariff hikes balanced by regulatory adjustments to minimise the impact on customer bills. Underlying profit before tax slid 59.6% to £9.1m due to inflation-driven costs, but the water utility expected an improvement in the second half. It said it was actively investing in sustainable growth, with a significant increase in capital investment and a focus on environmental improvements, while maintaining its commitment to customer support and low bill increases.
Hargreaves Lansdown has announced that chair Deanna Oppenheimer is to step down from the board after six years following mounting pressure from shareholders calling for her exit. Ahead of the financial services firm's annual general meeting on 8 December, speculation had risen that shareholders would vote against Oppenheimer's re-election. On Tuesday, proxy voting firm Glass Lewis reportedly sent investors a letter urging them to vote against her at the AGM, according to Sky News. Oppenheimer will be replaced by Alison Platt, the current chair of Dechra Pharmaceuticals and Ageas UK and the former chief executive of Countrywide.
Newspaper round-up
A Tory MP who accused the gambling regulator of being too “heavy handed” has received more than £8,000 in hospitality and payments from the betting industry this year, including tickets to see Madonna. Craig Whittaker, the MP for Calder Valley in West Yorkshire, criticised the Gambling Commission in an article for the Conservative Home website last week. – Guardian
The UK’s biggest telecoms providers are lining up above-inflation price increases for broadband and mobile customers that will add almost £500m to consumers’ bills from next spring, according to a new estimate. BT, EE, Vodafone, Virgin Media O2 and TalkTalk are to increase bills for more than 22 million broadband and mobile phone customers under “mid-contract” price rise clauses from April and May next year. – Guardian
A downturn in tech and construction has made London the redundancy capital of Britain, new data shows. One in six companies is planning to cut staff as the jobs market there is disproportionately hit by slumps in retail, housebuilding and IT, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC). – Telegraph
An anti-greenwashing rule intended to stop fund managers from misleading investors with unsubstantiated environmental claims has been put back by six months. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) revealed the new regime would now be implemented on May 31 next year and not immediately as previously planned. – The Times
More than two thirds of subscribers to The Daily Telegraph have said they would be less likely to read the newspaper if it is taken over by an Abu Dhabi-backed group, according to a survey highlighting the risks to the publication from its possible change of ownership. A YouGov poll of more than 500 adults found that 69 per cent of those who had a subscription, and 64 percent who were readers, were either “a bit” or “much” less likely to continue to pick the paper if it is backed by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan of Abu Dhabi. This rose to 76 per cent of subscribers and readers when the United Arab Emirates’ history of censorship was highlighted to survey respondents. – The Times
US close
US stocks closed higher on Tuesday as major indices reclaimed some of their earlier losses.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.24% at 35,416.98, while the S&P 500 was 0.10% firmer at 4,554.98 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.29% higher at 14,281.76.
The Dow closed 83.51 points higher on Tuesday, taking a bite out of losses recorded in the previous session.
Stocks searched for direction at the bell on Tuesday as market participants took stock of what has been another strong month for major indices despite mounting macroeconomic pressures.
However, Boeing, which received an upgrade from analysts at RBC Capital, as well as retailers Nike and Walmart, traded higher and gave the blue-chip Dow Jones a boost in afternoon trading.