Severn Trent profits gush, L&G sells Dutch unit
London open
The FTSE 100 index is expected to dip by two points on Thursday, according to sources in the City.
Stocks to watch
Water company Severn Trent reported interim profits before interest and tax of £299.4m, a rise of 10.8%. Turnover rose 3.2% to £906.8m. The interim dividend rose 32.6p a share from 32.26p a share.
Tying in with Chancellor Philip Hammond's quest to boost British productivity, Rio Tinto chief executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques said the mining giant can boost cash flow by $5m over the next five years with a new "productivity drive". As well as its existing $2bn cost-cutting target for the end of next year, Jacques told investors at a seminar in Sydney the company would prioritise "value over volume" and would drive productivity by "focusing on operational excellence to generate superior shareholder returns through the cycle".
Legal & General is to sell its Netherlands business to London-listed pensions firm Chesnara for €160m, the latest disposal in order to consolidate its overseas companies. The sale of the Dutch arm is expected to improve coverage ratio for the FTSE 100 company and to gain a small profit.
Newspaper round-up
Philip Hammond delivered his Autumn Statement bearing the scars of Brexit, but determined not to submit meekly to projections of a weaker economy and public finances. The chancellor’s strategy raised four important economic questions. What is the likely cost of Brexit? How much headroom has Mr Hammond created for the years ahead? Will he achieve his ambition to improve housing, productivity and regional imbalances? And what is the lasting effect of the vote to leave the EU? – Financial Times
Insurers have hit out at plans to increase insurance premium tax for the third time in 18 months, a move that is expected to raise more than £4bn for the Treasury but which was branded “a hammer blow for the hard pressed” by critics. IPT is added to about 50m car, home, private medical insurance and pet policies every year. – Telegraph
A top Barclays financier was dismissed after an interview he gave to the Serious Fraud Office as part of a criminal investigation into the bank’s Qatari capital-raising was passed to the lender, a London tribunal has been told. Richard Boath, former chairman of financial institutions at Barclays, is set to claim at an employment tribunal that he was dismissed as a direct result of the SFO’s decision to hand over a transcript of the interview from 2014 to the bank, his lawyer said. – The Times
US close
US markets on Wednesday had a mixed close ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, with the Dow Jones reaching a record high.
The DJIA closed 59 points higher, while the S&P 500 was up 1.78 points. The Nasdaq Composite was 5.67 points lower as markets digested a raft of data, including the minutes of the November Federal Open Market Committee meeting which revealed officials saw a stronger case for raising rates.
“Some participants noted that recent committee communications were consistent with an increase in the target range for the federal funds rate in the near term or argued that to preserve credibility, such an increase should occur at the next meeting,” the minutes stated.