Sage mulling over North American sale, Informa raises $500m

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 42 points higher on Wednesday, after closing up 0.49% at 6,779.84 on Tuesday.

Stocks to watch

Accounting software company Sage confirmed that it is “evaluating potential strategic options” for the payments business in North America, including a sale, but stressed that there could be “no certainty” that the evaluation would lead to any action. In November, the FTSE 100 company said in its final results for the year ended 30 September that there were “challenges” in the payments business as it had only 4% revenue growth, compared to the previous year.

Business intelligence group Informa has announced the issue of $500m of new US private placement notes which will be used to pay down the majority of the $675m previously arranged and drawn down acquisition facility. The notes have been issued in three tranches with a weighted average term of 9.25 years and at a weighted average coupon of 3.6%.

Carillion provided an update on trading in 2016 on Wednesday, ahead of announcing its preliminary results on 1 March. The FTSE 250 firm said performance met expectations, and it expected strong growth in total revenue and increased operating profit. New orders plus probable orders in 2016 were expected to reach £4.5bn, with total orders plus probable orders of approximately £16bn by the year end, down from £17.4bn at the same time last year.

Train and bus operator Stagecoach hiked its interim dividend to show its confidence in the future and keep investors chipper as profits and earnings fell in the face of what it said was a continuing "challenging and uncertain" political and economic environment. In the half-year ended 29 October revenue of £2.0bn was up 1.6% but operating profit fell 19% to £117m, pre-tax profits by 17% to £100.4m and adjusted earnings per share by 15% to 14.4p.

Newspaper round-up

The UK investigation into October’s “flash crash” in sterling has focused heavily on the Japanese trading operations of Citigroup, which fired off repeated sell orders that exacerbated the pound’s fall, according to bankers and officials involved in the inquiry. Citi’s traders are not believed to have started the slide in the currency in thin Asia trading but its Tokyo desk played a key role in sending the pound to its lowest levels in 31 years, bankers and officials said. - Financial Times

The ability of the global insurance industry to manage society’s risks is being threatened by climate change, according to a new report. The report finds that more frequent extreme weather events are driving up uninsured losses and making some assets uninsurable. - Guardian

The new president of the trade body that represents the UK pharmaceutical industry says she will make access to breakthrough medicines a key focus of her tenure. Lisa Anson, who is head of AstraZeneca in the UK, was named president of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry at the trade body's annual general meeting last night. - Telegraph

US close

US stocks closed higher on Tuesday as investors sifted through economic data and mulled over reports of a possible state bailout of Italian bank Monte dei Paschi.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at an all-time high for the second day in a row, rising 0.2% to 19,251.78 points. The S&P 500 gained 0.3% to 2,212.23 points while the Nasdaq grew 0.5% to 5,333 points.

Oil prices dipped after surging on Monday on the back of last week's landmark OPEC deal to cut production. West Texas Intermediate fell 1.9% to $50.81 per barrel and Brent declined 2.1% to $53.81 per barrel at 2147 GMT.

On the data front, the trade deficit widened to $42.6bn in October, from $36.2bn the previous month, and was larger than the $42bn expected.

Exports dropped by $3.4bn month-on-month to $186.4bn, as imports increased by $2bn to $229bn.

New factory orders in the US increased 2.7%, following an upwardly revised 0.6% rise in September, which was the biggest gain in 18 months. Economists had expected a 2.6% gain.

US durable goods orders were up 4.6% in October, from 4.8% the previous months, and well ahead o 3.4% consensus forecast.

Non-farm productivity, a measure of goods and services made per hour, was flat at a seasonally adjusted 3.1% in the third quarter, below the 3.3% consensus forecast.