Weekly review

The FTSE 100 ended the week up 0.92%, closing at 7,385.52 on Friday.

Equity view

Packaging group DS Smith has appointed Richard Pike, the chief financial officer of waste management firm Biffa, as its new group finance director. Pike, who has been CEO of Biffa for the last four years, will succeed Adrian Marsh, who is due to retire next summer. Pike "has enjoyed a highly successful career in finance, including a decade of leadership roles in manufacturing," DS Smith said.

Heat treatment specialist Bodycote held full-year guidance and said revenues in the four months to October 30 rose by a third due to price increases and energy cost surcharges. Total group revenue for the period grew by 29% on last year to £258m, or up 22% at constant currency rates. Bodycote introduced energy surcharges at the end of last year with the intention of covering the highly volatile costs of electricity and gas.

Mining giant Rio Tinto said it had ended its talks with dissenting minority shareholders of takeover target Turquoise Hill Resources. The company on Friday said it would now go ahead with its purchase of the remaining 49% in the Canadian miner it does not own for $3.3bn. This would give it control of the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia, in which Turquoise Hill holds 66%.

Legal & General reiterated its full-year guidance in a trading update on Friday, for operating profit growth in line with the 8% it delivered in the first half, and capital generation of £1.8bn. It did, however, warn that defined benefit flow-related revenue had decreased in liability-driven investing as higher fee products were sold to meet collateral requests.

Intermediate Capital Group reported a jump in third party fee income and profit at its Fund Management Company for the half, offset by a loss at the Investment Company. Nonetheless, the private equity investor also reported robust fundraising over the period, despite the "challenging" macro backdrop, and an "attractive" performance by its funds despite volatility in markets.

Halma posted a surge in first half revenues following the acquisition of two companies, despite which the company's net debt position remained low. The safety equipment manufacturer said that sales jumped 19% over the six months ending on 30 September versus a year earlier, to reach £875.5m.

UK house builder Crest Nicholson said it was deferring the opening of a third business division due to economic uncertainty, but added that that annual earnings would be within guidance. In a trading update on Thursday, the company said it expected full-year adjusted pre-tax profit to be within a previously guided range of £135m-£140m. However, trading in recent weeks had been weaker, reflecting “increased economic uncertainty”.

Luxury fashion brand Burberry posted a jump in first-half profit on Thursday as it set new medium-term guidance for sales. In the 26 weeks to 1 October, adjusted operating profit rose 6% at constant exchange rates to £238m, while revenues grew 5% to £1.35bn. The company’s retail comparable sales were up 5%, while wholesale sales were 1% higher.

Insurer Beazley said it had raised £350m from its recent placing and would use the funds to support organic growth. The company said it had placed 61m new shares, representing 9.99% of its issued ordinary share capital, with strong support from existing shareholders. The issue price of 575 pence each represents a discount of 8% to the closing share price of 625 pence on 15 November 2022.

British Land posted a big jump in first half profits on the back of "strong" rental growth and cost control. The property developer posted a 13.3% rise in underlying profit growth to reach £136m, as like-for-like rental growth grew by 5% and its cost ratio improved by 650 basis points to 19.7%.

Experian reported a jump in first-half revenues on Wednesday, supported by the launch of new products. The information services firm, which provides credit checks for both individuals and businesses, said ongoing revenues rose by 7% in the six months to 30 September, to $3.23bn, or by 9% on a constant currency basis, while total benchmark earnings before interest and tax jumped 8% to $873m.

Diamond producer De Beers reported a fall in sales in its latest cycle. The company, owned by mining giant Anglo American, said provisional sales came in at $450m, compared with $508 in the previous period.

Weapons maker BAE Systems held guidance as it said a weaker pound would provide a tailwind for reported annual earnings and sales and said it expected more growth next year due to an "elevated threat environment". The company on Tuesday said it also expected to benefit from increased defence spending by countries in which it operates due to increased tensions brought on by Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine last February.

Melrose Industries said on Tuesday that it was trading in line with expectations for the year, with momentum in the aerospace division improving. In an update for the period from 1 July to the end of October, the GKN parent said revenue was up 14% on the same period a year earlier, while operating profit was "substantially higher".

Real estate investor Workspace said on Tuesday that both rental income and pre-tax profits had grown in the six months ended 30 September, driven by "resilient customer demand" throughout the period. Workspace stated net rental income rose 36.8% to £56.1m, while pre-tax profits were up more than 950% at £35.8m amid "a rapid recovery" from the challenges of the Covid period.

Land Securities said on Tuesday that it swung to a first-half loss, with growth in earnings offset by market yield shift. In the six months to 30 September, the company swung to a pre-tax loss of £192m from a profit of £275m in the same period a year earlier, as the EPRA net tangible asset per share fell 5% to 1,010p, driven by a 2.9% decline in the portfolio value. Landsec said a small 0.4% increase in retail valuations was offset by a 4.4% drop in London.

UK-based drug company Indivior said it would pay $145m for Opiant Pharmaceuticals which produces treatments to overcome opioid addiction. The price equates to $20 a share, with an extra $8 per share contingent on Opiant’s ability to gain approvals and revenue for an overdose-reversal medication in late-stage development.

Diversified Energy Company said it was trading in line with expectations for the third quarter. The UK-based independent gas production company declared a dividend of 4.375p a share during the term. It also reported an average production rate of 135 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.

IT provider Kainos posted a jump in first-half profit and revenue on Monday as it hailed strong underlying demand. In the six months to 30 September, adjusted pre-tax profit rose 16% to £34m, on revenues of £179.8m, up 26% on the same period a year earlier. Revenue from digital services was 17% higher at £110.5m, reflecting increased demand for digital transformation primarily across the public and commercial sectors.

AstraZeneca announced on Monday morning that three of its drugs had been recommended for approval in the European Union. The FTSE 100 pharmaceuticals giant said ‘Imfinzi’ plus chemotherapy had been recommended for approval as a first immunotherapy regimen for advanced biliary tract cancer, and ‘Enhertu’ had been recommended for patients with previously-treated HER2-positive advanced gastric cancer.

Economic news

Britons will face “several decades” of high taxes as a result of “own goals” on economic policy by successive Conservative governments, an influential think tank said on Friday. Responding to Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt’s autumn budget containing £55bn of tax rises and public spending cuts, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the UK had “just got a lot poorer”.

UK consumer confidence nudged higher in November, a closely-watched survey showed on Friday. GfK’s Consumer Confidence Index rose 3 points in November to -44, although it remains close to historic lows. In September the index touched -49, the lowest since the survey began in 1974.

Retail sales volumes nudged higher in October, official figures showed on Friday, partially reversing September’s fall. According to the Office for National Statistics, sales rose 0.6% following a fall of 1.5% - revised down from an initial estimate for 1.4% - in September, when shops and businesses closed for the state funeral of Elizabeth II. Analysts had been expecting a rise of around 0.5%.

Britons face almost a decade of economic growth being wiped out as their living standards collapse after the government imposed more austerity on hard-pressed taxpayers – this time with a time-delay fuse. Finance minister Jeremy Hunt unleashed a £55bn package of tax rises and spending cuts as he sought to place the ruling Conservative Party in a position to win the next general election in two years.

Strike action by London Overground train drivers due to take place on 26 November has been suspended. Train drivers’ union Aslef said on Thursday that this follows a pay offer made to members this week by the company, which will now be put to a vote. Reports suggest drivers have been offered a 5% pay increase.

The taxpayer bill for bailing out failed energy supplier Bulb has surged to £6.5bn, according to official documents released on Thursday. Bulb was placed into administration and handed to the government after collapsing last November with around 1.5 million customers. It was bought by rival Octopus last month in a controversial deal that is currently being contested by other energy firms over a lack of transparency around the deal.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed the UK was already in recession on Thursday, as he unveiled a £55bn package of higher taxes and spending cuts in his first autumn budget. Citing "unprecedented global headwinds", Hunt said the Office for Budget Responsibility had confirmed the UK was in recession.

Discount grocer Lidl claimed in an update on Thursday that British shoppers had switched £58m worth of spending from the ‘big four’ supermarkets - Tesco, J Sainsbury, Asda and Wm Morrison - to its cut-price aisles over the last month. The company, part of the Germany-based Lidl group which is privately owned by the billionaire Schwarz family, cited Kantar data as it added that “nearly 60%” of households were choosing to shop at the 935-store chain.

UK house price growth slowed sharply in September, official data showed on Wednesday, adding to the deepening economic gloom. According to the Office for National Statistics, UK average house prices increased by 9.5% over the year to September, down from 13.1% in August and a high of 15.2% in July.

Inflation once again surged in October, official data showed on Wednesday, coming in well above expectations. According to the Office for National Statistics, consumer price inflation rose 11.1% in October year-on-year, up from 10.1% in September and the highest rate since 1981. Most analysts had been expecting CPI of around 10.7%.

International events

Expectations for a pivot by the Federal Reserve between February and May are a "big mistake", Bank of America strategists led by Michael Hartnett said. A pivot in June/July - just before refinancing of $1.6bn in US corporate debt - is the credible "big bull trade", they said.

Manufacturing sector activity in the US mid-Atlantic region worsened unexpectedly last month as factories reduced staffing levels and the work week shortened, the results of a closely followed survey revealed. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's regional factory gauge dropped from a reading of -8.7 for September to -19.4 in October (consensus: -6.0).

Homebuilders in the US broke ground on slightly more new houses last month than forecast by economists. According to the Department of Commerce, in seasonally adjusted terms, the annual rate of housing starts declined at a month-on-month pace of 4.2% to reach 1.425m (consensus: 1.42m).

US home builder sentiment fell in November for the 11th month in a row amid high interest rates and rising costs, according to the National Association of Home Builders. The NAHB index of homebuilder activity and sentiment declined to 33 from 38 the month before, coming in below expectations of 36.

US industrial production undershot forecasts by a wide margin, amid declines in Mining and Utilities output. According to the Department of Commerce, total production ticked lower by one tenth of a percentage point month-on-month in October (consensus: 0.2%).

The cost of imported goods in the States fell by a bit less than expected last month, for a fourth consecutive monthly decline. According to the Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms, the US import price index slipped at a month-on-month pace of 0.2% in October (consensus: -0.5%).

US retail sales grew more quickly than anticipated in October. According to the US Department of Commerce, in seasonally adjusted terms, retail sales volumes expanded at a month-on-month pace of 1.3% to reach $694.5bn.

The US President said overnight that it was unlikely that a Russian-made missile that impacted on Polish soil, killing two persons, was fired from Russia. "I don't want to say until we completely investigate," Joe Biden reportedly said overnight, according to CNBC.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics' producer price index for final demand rose 0.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis in October, driven by a 0.6% advance in prices for final demand goods. October's PPI print came in lower than the 0.4% reading expected on the Street, signalling that inflation may be slowing down, and comes hot on the heels of last week's cooler-than-expected consumer price index data.

German investor sentiment improved more than expected in November, according to a survey released on Tuesday by the ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim. The headline ZEW investor expectations index rose to -36.7 from -59.2 in October, coming in above consensus expectations for a reading of -50.

Reporting by Sharecast.com staff and contributors.