Sage buys Lockstep, Genuit interim profits drop

London pre-open

The FTSE100 was called to open 22 points higher at 7,531.

Stocks to watch

UK software company Sage Group said it had bought Lockstep, a provider of cloud native technology that automates accounting workflows between companies, for an undisclosed sum.

Pipe maker Genuit reported a fall in interim profits but maintained full-year guidance as revenues rose during the period due to a strong UK housing market.

The company, formerly known as Polypipe, said pre-tax profit in the six months to June 30 fell 2.7% to £33m on revenues up 7.6% to £318m.

Newspaper round-up

Water company bosses should be stripped of their multimillion-pound bonuses until they fix leaks and build reservoirs, politicians and campaigners have said as the country is gripped by drought. With parts of England the driest they have been since records began – after five months of below-average rainfall – some homes have run out of water, rivers have turned dry and farmers are facing crop failures. Many are outraged at the companies for failing to invest in reservoirs, fix leaks and stop sewage pollution from their pipes. – Guardian

Heathrow airport has extended its 100,000 passenger a day cap for another six weeks as the aviation sector continues to struggle to meet increased demand for travel amid staffing shortages. The capacity limit was initially meant to last until 11 September, but that date was pushed back on Monday to 29 October, overlapping with the autumn half-term break for most schools. – Guardian

A mining business dubbed “worthless” just 14 months ago has seen profits jump almost 3,000pc thanks to a scramble for coal provoked by Russia's war on Ukraine. Thungela Resources, which mines coal for power stations in South Africa, posted profits of 9.6bn ZAR (£485m) for the first half of 2022, compared to 351mZAR (£17m) last year. – Telegraph

Ted Baker, the London-listed fashion retailer, is close to agreeing a reduced takeover bid worth about £200 million from the American company behind Reebok. Authentic Brands is said to have withdrawn a higher proposal, worth about 160p a share, in June amid worries about the state of the British high street and falling consumer confidence. Sky News, which first reported the news, said that it had came back with a 110p-a-share proposal, with a deal possibly announced to the stock market as early as today. – The Times

US Close

Wall Street stocks managed a positive close on Monday, despite falling earlier after some disappointing data out of China.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.45% at 33,912.44, as the S&P 500 added 0.4% to 4,297.14 and the Nasdaq Composite was ahead 0.62% to 13,128.05.