ABF guidance unchanged, Bunzl profits pop
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to add 11 points on Monday, having finished the previous week at 7,178.60.
Stocks to watch
Like-for-like sales at the Primark retail arm of Associated British Foods have fallen 2% in the first half of the year but full year guidance remained unchanged. At the top line, Primark grew sales 4% due to expansion of selling space, while the grocery, agriculture and ingredients divisions all reported improved revenues, while sugar sales have been strongly diluted by the new EU price regime.
Distribution group Bunzl said it was stockpiling to mitigate against border delays if the UK crashed out of the European Union without a deal as it reported a rise in full year pre-tax profits. The company said profits at constant exchange rates rose 6% to £559m on the back of a 9% increase in revenue to £9bn. In a separate announcement, Bunzl said it was buying Liberty Glove & Safety, a supplier of safety products to distributors based in the US.
Doorstep lender Provident Financial has rejected a £1.3bn offer from smaller rival Non-Standard Finance, calling it “highly opportunistic”. On Friday, Non-Standard Finance offered 8.88 new NSF shares for each Provident Financial share. Based on NSF’s closing share price of 58p a share the day before, this valued each Provident share at 511p. But Provident expressed its disappointment at the unsolicited bid on Monday, highlighting the fact that NSF had decided not to engage with the board prior to the announcement.
Newspaper round-up
Gambling companies are planning to set up a new trade body to lobby politicians as the prospect of tougher regulation of the industry grows. Job adverts posted by the recruitment firm Ellwood Atfield appear to confirm rumours of a merger between the Remote Gambling Association, which represents online betting firms, and the Association of British Bookmakers, which came in for heavy criticism during the battle over fixed-odds betting terminals. – Guardian
Investors have placed their biggest bets against Thomas Cook in a year as fears grow that the sale of its airline could be blown off course by a turbulent aviation market. The travel agent was plunged into crisis last year after a string of profit warnings led to a call for support from its banks to allay concerns of a cash crunch. Thomas Cook then put its airline on the market earlier this month to provide “greater financial flexibility and increased resources”. – Telegraph
Businesses have lost faith in the political process, the Institute of Directors warned as research revealed that confidence in the service sector is sinking at its fastest pace since the financial crisis. Responding to the government’s decision to delay a meaningful vote on the Brexit deal until as late as March 12, the institute said that further postponement would only “drag out uncertainty” and risk an accidental no-deal. – The Times
US close
US stocks closed higher on Friday as investors eyed more news from trade talks between the US and China ahead of next week’s truce deadline.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.70% higher at 26,031.81, while the S&P 500 was up 0.64% at 2,792.67 and the Nasdaq moved 0.91% firmer to 7,527.54.
The Dow closed 181 points higher as Chinese Vice Premier Liu He met Donald Trump at the White House and managed to carve out a deal on currency in their ongoing trade war.