Ultra Electronics wins a new MoD contract, Auto Trader more than doubles dividend

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open up 16 points on Thursday, after closing down 0.62% at 7,478.62 on Wednesday.

Stocks to watch

Ultra Electronics said its US-based Ocean Systems business had won a $10m (£7.72m) contract from the UK Ministry of Defence for the production of two variants, 101 and 102, of the Submarine Countermeasure Acoustic Device (SCAD) for the Royal Navy's submarine fleet.

Auto Trader Group more than doubled its dividend as revenue and earnings beat expectations for its full-year performance, with the new year forecast to see greater used car sales volumes and improving margins. Revenue for the year to 31 March was up 9% to £311.4m, beating the consensus analyst forecast of £310m, although the 19% rise in underlying operating profits to £207.2m was short of the consensus £212m.

Petrofac announced on Thursday that it secured a long-term framework agreement with Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) for the provision of engineering, procurement and construction management (EP+Cm) support services for major oil and gas projects. The FTSE 250 company said the agreement, which was for ten years with an additional five-year option, built upon a three-year programme of EP+Cm support contract delivery Petrofac had already undertaken on behalf of PDO.

Newspaper round-up

Oil industry company Halliburton has been branded “obscene” for advertising unpaid UK internships, which critics say give an unfair advantage to people from privileged backgrounds. In an advert on its recruitment site, Halliburton said it was seeking “people who want to innovate, achieve, grow and lead” for student internships at its office in Chiswick, west London. – Guardian

UK households put the brakes on plans to move home in May, as uncertainty over the general election put them off making big spending decisions. Buyers and sellers opted to “wait and see” ahead of today’s election according to estate agents surveyed by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Enquiries from new buyers fell and the number of properties placed on the market dropped for a 15th month. The number of sales agreed also fell. – Guardian

Berendsen has succumbed to a takeover proposal from French rival Elis, after the offer was raised for a second time to £2.2bn, in spite of earlier comments made by the British laundry giant's board that there had been no "basis for any further discussions". The new offer would value Berendsen at £12.50 per share excluding an interim dividend, at a premium of 45pc to its uninterrupted share price, and ahead of the previous offers of £11.73 a share and £11.00 a share tabled in late April and May. – Telegraph

WPP shareholders have sought to increase the pressure on the company to identify a successor to its 72-year-old chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell over fears his exit could destabilise the global advertising empire he has built. Standard Life, which owns a 1.5pc stake in WPP worth £322m, teamed up with Royal London, owner of £106m in shares, at the company's annual general meeting to demand more progress towards a "post-Sorrell future". – Telegraph

Sir Philip Green’s retail empire suffered a sharp decline in British sales last year as the tycoon complained that clothing was becoming a less important part of household budgets. Revenue at his chains, which include Topshop, Miss Selfridge and Evans, declined to £1.7 billion in the year to August 27, down from £2.2 billion the year before, accounts for Taveta Investments, the holding company, showed. – The Times

The Greek government has rejected a compromise proposal by the International Monetary Fund to resolve the impasse over the country’s debts, raising the possibility of a sovereign default within weeks. Alexis Tsipras, the prime minister, and his ruling Syriza party said that the proposal offered Greece a “less than an honourable solution”. – The Times

US close

Wall Street was staging a mild bounce back on Wednesday ahead of a raft of key risk events on Thursday, including former FBI boss James Comey's testimony before a Senate panel, the UK general election and a meeting of the European Central Bank's governing council.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.18% at 21,173.69, while the S&P 500 added 0.16% to 2,433.14 and the Nasdaq 100 was ahead 0.36% at 5,877.59.

“Comey’s testimony is crucial tomorrow,” said FXTM chief market strategist Hussein Sayed.

“While it's known that many questions will remain unanswered, the biggest question remains to be whether the former FBI director will accuse the President of abusing his power to derail the FBI’s investigation and whether there’s any indication of potential links between Russia and the Trump election campaign.

“Should the testimony reveal any unexpected surprises, the same will be reflected in the financial markets.”