Chemring performing as expected, Rentokil holds full-year guidance

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The FTSE 100 is expected to open 16 points higher on Thursday, having closed up 0.97% on Wednesday at 8,329.07.

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Chemring said in an update on Thursday that its performance remained in line with analyst expectations, supported by a robust order intake of £638m and an order book of £1.1bn as of 30 September. The FTSE 250 company said its countermeasures and energetics division was seeing strong demand, with 95% of expected 2025 revenue already covered by orders, while significant progress was being made in long-term projects, including a feasibility study for a new explosives facility in Norway. Additionally, the sensors and information sector, led by Roke, had secured a number of electronic warfare contracts in multiple regions.

Pest control services group Rentokil Initial has held on to full-year guidance following a profit warning last month, as it reported a steady third quarter with revenues unchanged year-on-year at £1.38bn. However, on an organic basis, the top line improved by 2.6%, as strong performances in Europe, the UK and Asia offset milder growth in North America after a subdued summer. The company said that actions in North American to increase organic growth and rebalance the cost base have been “strengthened” since the September trading update.

Newspaper round-up

Tesco has struck a deal to buy enough solar power to run 144 of its large supermarkets, buying almost two-thirds of the entire electricity output from the Cleve Hill solar park in Kent. The £450m solar park is being built on farmland near Faversham by Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, a London-based firm that invests in renewable and low-carbon energy in the US, UK and Australia. – Guardian

Post Office executives changed data on the Horizon IT systems used by post office operators without their knowledge as recently as last year, the public inquiry into the scandal has heard. The inquiry was shown a letter from Calum Greenhow, the chief executive of the National Federation of Subpostmasters (NFSP) and a post office operator for 22 years, to the Post Office raising the issue in May last year. – Guardian

Amazon has become the latest tech giant to embrace mini-nuclear reactors as the online retailer seeks to power a growing fleet of electric trucks and data centres. The American group, founded by Jeff Bezos, said on Wednesday it had led a $500m (£380m) funding round in small modular reactor (SMR) technology being developed by Maryland-based X-energy. It is also backing two SMR projects in the states of Virginia and Washington. – Telegraph

The crisis at Stellantis, the parent group of Vauxhall, has been laid bare as the multinational automotive group revealed that deliveries have crashed 20 per cent compared with a year ago. Shipments around the world by Stellantis brands in the three months to the end of September fell 279,000 to 1.14 million compared with the same period in 2023. The collapse in business was most acutely seen in North America where shipments dived 36 percent, down 171,000 vehicles to 299,000, as it admitted problems managing the energy transition. – The Times

The UK’s decision to leave the European Union was a “disaster” that has cost the Square Mile almost 40,000 jobs, according to the lord mayor of the City of London. The estimate by Michael Mainelli, who represents the Square Mile in his role as the 695th lord mayor, will fuel the debate over the true extent to which Britain’s financial services sector has been harmed by Brexit. – The Times

US close

US equity markets rallied into the close on Wednesday with the Dow hitting a fresh record high as more forecast-beating earnings in the banking sector offset weakness among tech stocks.

The Dow finished 0.8% higher at 43,077.70, settling marginally higher than Monday's all-time high of 43,065.22.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% while the Nasdaq edged 0.3% higher.

Morgan Stanley was making headlines after topping Street forecasts with third-quarter earnings, thanks to a better-than-expected investment banking performance.

The bank was following in the footsteps of other economic bellwethers to impress with recent results, including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and JPMorgan.