Lloyd's Bank posts fall in Q1 pre-tax profits, Persimmon trades in line amid strong demand

London pre-open

The FTSE 100 was being called to open 21.7 points lower ahead of the bell on Wednesday after the index wrapped up the previous session just 0.08% higher at 7,386.19.

Stocks to watch

Retail banking giant Lloyd's Bank reported a fall in first-quarter pre-tax profits as higher net income was offset by an underlying impairment charge.

The UK-based bank posted profits of £1.6bn on Wednesday, up from £1.8bn a year earlier, and said the underlying impairment charge of £200.0m reflected a low incurred charge and limited impact from a revised economic outlook, including higher inflation offset by stronger house prices and unemployment.

Housebuilding company Persimmon said on Wednesday that it was currently trading in line with expectations, with demand remaining strong and private average sales rates rising 2% year-on-year.

Persimmon, which also highlighted its "robust" forward order book of roughly £2.8bn, anticipates that full-year completions will be weighted towards the second half, with first half completions being lower than those delivered in 2021.

Newspaper round-up

Suitcases filled with cash from taxpayer-backed Covid loans were seized at the border as people tried to smuggle them out of the country, a Times investigation reveals today. Border force officials have stopped people at airports across Britain "carrying large amounts of money suspected from coronavirus bounce-back loans", a Home Office source said. - The Times

Brexit has pushed up the price of food imported from the EU, compounding Britain's unfolding cost of living crisis, according to a report. The thinktank UK in a Changing Europe said trade barriers introduced after leaving the EU had led to a 6% increase in UK food prices between December 2019 and September 2021, adding to the rising financial pressure for households. - Guardian

Rishi Sunak was urged to cut tax during a Cabinet meeting about tackling the cost of living crisis, after official figures revealed record-high tax receipts for the Treasury. While colleagues suggested reducing the cost of childcare and scrapping MOTs to help ease the pain of rising bills and prices, Kit Malthouse, the policing minister, argued that reducing the tax burden would be the best way to help struggling families. - Telegraph

Investors in Tesla yesterday showed their disapproval of Elon Musk's plans to take control of Twitter, sending the shares sharply lower. The electric carmaker's stock market valuation dropped below $1.0trn amid scrutiny of how its chief executive and largest shareholder intends to finance his $44.0bn purchase. - The Times

Britain's economy will suffer an £8.0bn hit this year from a reduction in the size of the workforce caused by a pandemic-induced rise in ill-health, research from a thinktank has shown. A report from the Institute for Public Policy Research said a combination of long Covid, NHS disruption, and an increase in mental illness meant 400,000 workers had gone "missing" since the global health crisis began. - Guardian

US close

Wall Street stocks closed sharply lower on Tuesday as investors digested quarterly earnings from a number of big-name firms and a series of data points.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 2.38% at 33,240.18, while the S&P 500 was 2.81% softer at 4,175.20 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 3.95% weaker at 12,490.74.