Melrose holds guidance, Halma announces purchase of Lamidey Noury Medical

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open seven points higher on Monday, having closed down 0.09% on Friday at 8,063.61.

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UK aerospace company Melrose held full-year guidance after a rise in revenues driven by aftermarket demand in its engines division, particularly in defence. Revenue rose 7% in the four months to October 31, with aftermarket up 32% year on year although original equipment volume growth remained constrained by industry-wide supply chain issues, Melrose said in a trading statement. The company still expects adjusted operating profit £550m - £570m, adding that it was on track to hit a £700m profit target in 2025.

Safety equipment maker Halma has announced it is buying Lamidey Noury Medical, a Paris-based manufacturer of medical technology devices, for €50m. Lamidey Noury makes advanced electrosurgical and associated energy devices which are used in minimally invasive urology, gynaecology and general surgery, and the business is adjacent to Halma’s existing presence in diagnosis and biopsy devices for similar diseases.

Elementis announced on Monday that chief executive officer Paul Waterman would step down after nine years in the role, with a transition planned no later than its annual general meeting in April. The FTSE 250 firm said Waterman would assist with the leadership handover, and remain available for support until the end of July 2025. Its board said it had started the search for a successor.

Newspaper round-up

Household energy bills across Great Britain are set to rise at the start of next year, analysts predict, putting more pressure on household finances. Officially, the price cap for January-March 2025 will be set on Friday morning by regulator Ofgem, limiting what energy providers can charge in England, Scotland and Wales. – Guardian

Black Friday is fast becoming Black Fraud Day with the discount period now “prime time” for scammers, according to Britain’s cybersecurity chief, who said criminals were using artificial intelligence to trick shoppers. With online criminals taking advantage of an eagerness to save money amid the cost of living crisis, last Christmas people in the UK were scammed out of more than £11.5m, figures show, almost £1m more than in the same period in 2022. Fake clothing or high-end tech listings on social media were among the common ploys used to dupe people. – Guardian

Lloyds Bank has been accused of “swamping” lawyers with truckloads of post to stop them claiming compensation for drivers in the car finance mis-selling scandal. Courmacs Legal claimed it was receiving “tens of thousands” of legal letters every day from the bank’s finance arm, Black Horse, which other lenders instead send electronically. – Telegraph

Thousands more investors are seeking to sue Hargreaves Lansdown over Neil Woodford’s failed equity fund, claiming the investment platform continued to recommend the product even as it ran into issues. RGL Management, the litigation firm, is seeking to double the number of people represented in a High Court claim against Hargreaves Lansdown, taking the number of claims from 2,750 to more than 5,000. – Telegraph

Sephora, the LVMH-owned make-up giant, is ramping up its store expansion in the UK as it attempts to take on rivals such as Boots in the battle for British beauty. Guillaume Motte, its chief executive, said he wanted to double the size of the business in Britain by opening new shops and expanding its online channel. “We’re probably looking in the next two to three years to have at least 20 stores in the UK,” he told The Times. – The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks closed lower on Friday as major indices shrugged off last week's record-setting post-election rally.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.70% at 43,444.99, while the S&P 500 lost 1.32% to 5,870.62 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 2.24% weaker at 18,680.12.

The Dow closed 305.87 points lower on Friday, extending losses recorded in the previous session after Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell indicated that the central bank was in no rush to continue cutting interest rates.

Underlining sentiment on Friday was news that US retail sales increased 0.4% month-on-month in October, according to the Census Bureau, following an upwardly revised 0.8% gain in September and beating consensus estimates of a 0.3% rise. Excluding automotive retailers, sales edged up just 0.1% month-on-month.

Elsewhere on the macro front, US import prices decreased to 140.8 in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, down from 141.40 in August, while export prices slipped to 146.80 points, down from 147.90 in the prior month.