Kingfisher selling Romania's Brico Depot, National Grid plans £35bn of investments

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 15 points higher on Wednesday, having closed down 0.81% on Tuesday at 8,195.20.

Stocks to watch

DIY group Kingfisher has announced the sale of its Brico Depot business in Romania to retailer Altex Romania for €70m. The Bucharest-headquartered subsidiary comprises 31 stores across 24 cities, along with distribution operations. Kingfisher said the divestment will give it “greater strategic focus on markets and growth initiatives where we are most strongly positioned to deliver attractive returns and create shareholder value”.

National Grid on Wednesday said it planned to invest up to £35bn in Britain’s electricity network over a five year period from April 2026. The plan includes £11bn to maintain and upgrade existing networks, alongside construction works for the first three of its accelerated strategic transmission investment projects. A further £24bn has been allocated to future projects, including around £15bn to increase network capacity.

IntegraFin reported a 17% increase in funds under direction in its final results on Wednesday, to £64.1bn for the year ended 30 September, supported by £2.5bn in net inflows. The FTSE 250 company said revenue rose 7% to £144.9m, while underlying profit before tax grew 12% to £70.6m, despite a higher UK corporation tax rate. It noted advancements in its proprietary technology for the ‘Transact’ platform, and declared a total annual dividend of 10.4p per share, up from 10.2p in the prior year.

Newspaper round-up

Amazon is to settle a group claim from delivery drivers that it deprived them of thousands of pounds, the Guardian has learned, ending a suit that lawyers had said could cost the company £140m. Drivers who deliver for the internet marketplace through its “delivery service partners” (DSPs) are classed as self-employed, meaning they are not entitled to benefits such as holiday pay and the minimum wage, while they also do not have an employment contract. – Guardian

A Lloyds Banking Group advert has been banned for making false environmental claims, making it the second major lender to break the UK advertising watchdog’s rules against greenwashing. The ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) follows an investigation into a billboard poster and three paid-for posts on the networking website LinkedIn, all of which hailed the lender’s climate credentials. – Guardian

Honda and Nissan are plotting a historic merger as they struggle to survive the seismic worldwide shift to electric cars. The two Japanese carmakers are in early discussions about a possible combination, according to Japanese paper Nikkei. The deal, which may involve cost-cutting, will raise concerns on the impact of British jobs. Nissan employs 7,000 workers in the UK. – Telegraph

Heathrow has unveiled plans to spend more than £2.3bn upgrading the airport, days after Saudi Arabia finalised its investment in the transport hub. The funds will pay for improvements including new baggage systems, runway resurfacing work and the completion of the rollout of higher-specification security scanners. – Telegraph

UK exporters suffered a £27 billion drop in goods sales to the European Union after Brexit, with smaller firms bearing the brunt of new trade barriers. Research from the Centre for Economic Performance, a think tank based at the London School of Economics, said Brexit led to a 6.4 per cent drop in the UK’s global exports and a 3.1 per cent decline in imports into the UK from the rest of the world. “The decline in exports was concentrated among smaller firms, but insignificant for the largest firms,” the report said. – The Times

US close

Wall Street's three main equity benchmarks were in the red on Tuesday after stronger-than-expected economic data, with the Dow extending its recent losing streak and the Nasdaq retreating from a record high.

The Dow fell for the ninth straight session – its longest losing streak in nearly 50 years – dropping 0.6%, while the S&P 500 declined 0.4% and the Nasdaq slipped 0.3%.

Investors were beginning to look ahead to Wednesday's Federal Open Market Committee meeting, with a 25-basis point reduction in the Fed Funds Rate more or less priced into markets.

However, stronger-than-expected retail sales data out during Tuesday's session may have tempered projections for further monetary easing in 2025.

Strong auto sales drove national retail sales up 0.7% in November, up from 0.5% in October and ahead of the 0.5% increase expected.