Persimmon lays solid foundation for financial year, Ocado profits sink despite higher order volumes
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open down 13 points on Wednesday, after closing 0.27% lower at 7,357.23 on Tuesday.
Stocks to watch
Housebuilder Persimmon put together an excellent foundation to its financial year, reporting resilient consumer confidence and strong momentum moving into the second half. The FTSE 100 group expanded revenues 12% to £1.66bn as the volume of new homes sold grew 8% to 7,794 and it was able to hoist average selling prices 3.5% to £213,000.
Retirement housebuilder McCarthy & Stone updated the market on its for the period from 1 March to 4 July on Wednesday, reporting “upward momentum” in average selling prices and margins since 1 March. The FTSE 250 firm said average selling prices exceeded £280k per unit during the period, compared to £265k a year ago, and the group's total forward order book increased by £241m since 1 March, compared to £219m growth a year ago. Total forward sales including legal completions to date were now in line with the prior year at £659m, which the board said represented a “significant improvement” since the start of the financial year.
Ocado, the online grocery specialist, increased orders volumes and revenues in the first half of the year but saw profits shrink due to investments in its Andover 'customer fulfilment centre'. Boss Tim Steiner hailed the easing of price deflation in the market, which he said would help the FTSE 250 group continue the profitable growth of the retail business.
Newspaper round-up
Seven rail companies, including Virgin Trains’ east and west coast franchises, have agreed to allow passengers to buy cheaper Advance tickets as close as 10 minutes before their journey starts. Following the lead taken by CrossCountry in January 2015 after a successful trial, seven more train companies have dropped punitive restrictions that in the past meant that customers could generally only buy cut-price Advance tickets up to midnight on the day before travel. – Guardian
When it opened the developers of the Shard boasted that it should only take “about 20 phone calls” to sell the 10 exclusive apartments near the top of the tower for up to £50m each. Yet five years on from the Duke of York and the former prime minister of Qatar officially opening “Europe’s first vertical city” with a dazzling laser display on 5 July 2012, all 10 of the flats on the 53rd to 65th floors of the 72-storey building appear to remain unsold. – Guardian
Britain has continued to outrank other European countries as a technology investment hub despite last year’s Brexit vote. Research from London & Partners, an arm of the mayor’s office designed to promote the city, said £2.4bn of venture capital funding had been put into British technology companies since last year’s referendum. – Telegraph
Lloyds Banking Group was warned by the City watchdog five years ago that there had been a risk of “potential fraud” at HBOS’ Reading office, it has emerged. A notice issued by the now-defunct Financial Services Authority (FSA) censuring an HBOS division in 2012 was finally published in full today. It shows the FSA told Lloyds five years ago that “unauthorised extension of credit” at HBOS Reading for at least three years before March 2007 “may have exposed the firm and the firm’s customers to potential fraud”. – Telegraph
A government-employed banker in charge of winding down the assets of nationalised banks was paid £766,000 last year, it has been revealed, as Theresa May tries to hold the line on a maximum 1 per cent pay rise for other public sector workers. UK Asset Resolution, which owns the loan books salvaged from the Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley collapses, disclosed the pay packet — which is five times the size of the prime minister’s — as it reported a 33 per cent fall in underlying pre-tax profits. – The Times
The Bank of England should start raising interest rates to prevent the economy from overheating, one of its policymakers has said, exposing deep divisions on its rate-setting committee. Michael Saunders, an external member of the monetary policy committee, said that the Bank was overstimulating the economy with rates at 0.25 per cent and £375 billion of quantitative easing. – The Times
US close
Markets on Wall Street remained closed for the Independence Day holiday on Tuesday.
They finished mixed after a truncated session on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 0.61% to 21,479.27, the S&P 500 rising 0.23% to 2,429.01, and the Nasdaq 100 falling 0.88% to 5,596.96.
US markets will reopen to trade as usual for a full session later on Wednesday.