Senior wins $12m UAE contract, Victrex profit before tax falls

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 40 points lower on Tuesday, having closed down 0.22% on Monday at 7,512.96.

Stocks to watch

FTSE 250-listed engineering and manufacturing group Senior has won a contract with United Arab Emirates-based Strata Manufacturing worth $12m. The deal, for the supply of Boeing 787 vertical fin detail parts, has a seven-year term with work being undertaken at Senior Aerospace's facility in Chonburi, Thailand. "Strata is a new customer for Senior, and we are delighted that Senior Aerospace Thailand has been selected for this important contract," said Launie Fleming, chief executive of Senior Aerospace.

Polymer specialist Victrex said in its preliminary results on Tuesday that it achieved £80m in underlying profit before tax, down 10% year-on-year, with reported profit before tax falling 19% to £72.5m. While facing a 24% decrease in volume and a 10% drop in group revenue, Victrex reported strong growth in its medical and aerospace sectors, maintained cost discipline, improved gross margins, and outlined strategic growth targets for the future, including decarbonisation efforts and revenue growth goals.

Newspaper round-up

Ministers are under pressure to explain the actions of the government and regulators over cybersecurity at Europe’s most hazardous nuclear site after a Guardian investigation revealed disturbing vulnerabilities in its networks. The shadow energy secretary, Ed Miliband, called on the government to urgently “provide assurances” about Sellafield, after the Guardian revealed it had been hacked by groups linked to Russia and China. – Guardian

The Confederation of British Industry has said it is suffering a “considerable level of financial stress” and there remains “material uncertainty” that it can continue operating in the long term after sexual misconduct allegations. The scandal-hit business lobby group said it was “emerging from an unprecedented situation” that had led to “exceptional costs”, warning there was also “material uncertainty arising from the CBI’s financial performance since the year end”. – Guardian

Barclays’ Qatari backers are to halve their stake in the lender in the biggest share sales since the Gulf state rescued the banks during the financial crisis. Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Barclays second largest shareholder, on Monday launched plans to raise £510m through the sale of shares. – Telegraph

Lloyds Banking Group has scooped an estimated £700 million profit after unexpectedly getting back the entire £1.2 billion it lent to the Barclay family. Analysts are now re-examining their forecasts for the year after the bank was repaid far more than the £500 million at which it is thought to have valued the loan in its books. – The Times

The ownership of UK-listed shares by British pension funds and insurers has slumped to its lowest level since records began, according to official figures. The proportion of the overall London share market owned by those institutions had fallen to 4.2 per cent by the end of last year, from 4.3 per cent in 2020. That compares with 45.7 per cent in 1997 and a high point of 52.1 per cent in 1990. – The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks ended in negative territory on Monday, marking a departure from the Dow’s recent winning streak, which had extended for five consecutive weeks.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.11% at 36,204.44.

The S&P 500 dropped 0.54% to finish at 4,569.78, while the Nasdaq Composite fell by 0.84% to settle at 14,185.49.

One of the factors influencing market sentiment was the rise in treasury yields during early trading hours.

The increase raised concerns among investors that expectations of future rate cuts might have been overly optimistic.