Barratt feels strong, CYBG makes progress
London open
The FTSE 100 was being called around six points lower on Wednesday, after finishing the previous day at a 17 week high at 7,177.37.
Stocks to watch
Barratt Developments grew profits 19% in the first half of its trading year as Britain's largest housebuilder said it was in a strong position in spite of the uncertainty around Brexit. Completing 7,622 homes during the six months to 31 December, a 4.1% increase on the year before, to increase revenue 7% to £2.1bn and profit before tax to £408m.
The US drug regulator has granted orphan drug designation to AstraZeneca's Fasenra treatment of hypereosinophilic syndrome, a group potentially fatal disorders that can cause progressive damage to any organ in the body.
CYBG reported "good progress" with the integration of Virgin Money since the merger was completed in October, with group mortgage lending up 1.4% in the first quarter of its financial year but amid pressure on margins in the competitive UK mortgage market.
Newspaper round-up
Bookmaker Ladbrokes Coral is telling shop staff to sign up as many gamblers as possible to online accounts if they want to avoid being among 5,000 employees it plans to make redundant. According to letters circulated among employees the bookmaker will close up to 1,000 of its 3,500 shops over the next 18 to 24 months, blaming imminent curbs on £100-per-spin fixed-odds betting terminals. – Guardian
The government has raised objections to a rescue plan designed to stave off a Carillion-style collapse at Interserve, the contractor whose public sector contracts include hospital cleaning and serving school meals. Lenders to the company, which employs 45,000 people in the UK, are trying to thrash out the terms of a plan under which they would agree to cancel nearly half of the company’s £807m net debt for shares in the company and effectively take control of it. - Guardian
Apple’s retail chief Angela Ahrendts is leaving after five years at the technology giant. The former Burberry chief executive, who has been one of Apple’s most high profile executives since her appointment in 2014, will depart in April. - Telegraph
US close
US stocks closed slightly higher on Tuesday as investors eyed Donald Trump's State of the Union address later in the evening and sifted through more earnings news.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.68% at 25,411.52, while the S&P 500 gained 0.47% to 2,737.70 and the Nasdaq traded 0.74% firmer at 7,402.08.
Tech and consumer stocks helped the Dow close 172 points higher on Tuesday ahead of Donald Trump's State of the Union address later in the evening.