Weekly review

FTSE 100 ended the week down by 93.87 points to 6,115.76.

Equity view

BP and Det Norske Oljeselskap on Friday said they were combining the assets and expertise from both companies' exploration and production operations to create Aker BP ASA, which will become Norway's largest independent oil and gas producer.

Grocery giant Tesco confirmed the proposed sale of its Kipa and Giraffe businesses on Friday, as it continues to slim down and focus on its core retail business.

J Sainsbury announced on Friday it will appoint its chief financial officer John Rogers as chief executive of Home Retail Group on completion of its £1. 4bn takeover.

Fuller, Smith & Turner reported positive growth for the last financial year but challenging conditions going into the current year

Consumer products group PZ Cussons issued a trading update on Thursday, confirming to the market that performance for the year ended 31 May was in line with expectations.

Specialist plastic, fibre and foam maker Essentra issued a profit warning on Thursday, citing a tough market in filter products and short-term operational problems in the US and UK from its healthcare and personal packaging unit.

Glencore has agreed to sell a further 9.99% stake in its agricultural business to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Canada’s largest pension fund.

HSBC’s planned sale of its Brazil business to Bradesco reached a new milestone on Thursday, as the bank announced it has received unanimous approval from the Brazilian Administrative Council for Economic Defence.

House builder Bellway said it expected full year completions to rise by at least 10% over the 7,752 achieved in 2015.

AstraZeneca said it has entered a $770m commercialisation deal with Aspen Global Incorporated (AGI), part of the the US Aspen Group, for rights to its global anaesthetics portfolio outside the US.

Vodafone confirmed local rumours surrounding its New Zealand operation, announcing it was merging with subscription television provider Sky to create an integrated telecommunications and media group.

Pay-TV operator Sky has inked a deal that will see it broadcast Germany's Bundesliga football through to 2021 at an average rights cost of €876m a year, from €486m under the existing contract.

Total first quarter sales at Home Retail Group's Argos chain grew by 2. 6% to £868m, the company said, adding that net new space contributed 2. 5%, mainly as a result of store openings in the previous financial year.

CMC Markets has turned in a 23% rise in full-year pretax profit of £53. 4m, from £43. 5m, at the same time hiking its dividend 56% to 8. 9p a share, from 5.7p.

WH Smith said like-for-like sales in the 14 weeks to 4 June 2016 were flat with total group sales up 2%, and added that it was confident in the outcome for the full year.

Tobacco behemoth Imperial Brands issued a puff-heavy update to the market on Wednesday, ahead of its investor day being held at its head office in Bristol.

Pre-tax profits at property outfit Workspace Group jumped 8. 7% to £391. 3m, with revenues up to £101. 2m from £83. 6m driven by income and capital growth.

Online electrical retailer AO World reported on Wednesday a 25.7% increase in full year revenue to £599. 2, driven by growth in the UK business.

Supermarket heavyweight Sainsbury's said like-for-like retail sales fell 0. 8% excluding fuel and were down 1% including petrol.

Controversial Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley told MPs on Tuesday that his company could do a better job than a union when it came to looking after workers.

Fashion retailer New Look posted an uptick in both sales and profits this week, in its first full year under the ownership of South African firm Brait.

Shell said it was increasing the level of cost cuts from its merger with BG Group to $4. 5bn from $3. 5bn.

Passenger numbers at low cost carrier easyJet rose 5. 7% in May to 6. 86m despite 173 cancellations due to French air traffic control strikes and weather conditions.

Economic news

Interest rate hike expectations for the next year among the general public in Britain have risen, according to a survey by the Bank of England and TNS on Friday.

UK construction output rose more than expected in April compared to a month ago, official data showed on Friday. Output rose 2.5% month-on-month in April, beating analysts’ estimates for a 1.2% increase and following a 3.6% decline in March, the Office for National Statistics revealed.

Britain's trade deficit narrowed more than expected in April as exports on goods surged, official data showed on Thursday. The Office for National Statistics said the total trade deficit fell to £3.29bn in April from a downwardly revised £3.53bn in March.

UK house prices are expected to fall for the first time since November 2012 over the next three months amid uncertainty over the European Union referendum, according to a RICS survey on Thursday.

Low income families may stand to lose hundreds of pounds in benefit payments, if not far more, should Britain decide to leave the European Union, said NIESR, one of the UK's leading think-tanks said.

UK industrial production unexpectedly rose in April from a year earlier, official data showed on Wednesday. Output grew 1.6% year-on-year in April, beating forecasts for a 0.3% decline and following a 0.2% drop in March, the Office for National Statistics revealed.

A poll by ORB revealed 52% of Britons favoured remaining in the European Union, against 40% who wanted to leave. It also showed that, among those who are certain to vote, the leave camp had risen to 47% as the remain outfit fell to 48%.

UK retail spending rose in May after two flat months as shoppers stocked up on clothing for the summer, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said on Tuesday. Spending increased 1.4% in May compared to a year ago, in line with the 12-month average of 1.5%.

New car registrations in the UK rose 2. 5% in May to 203,585, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, marking the highest total since 2002.

New poll results showing that the 'Leave' campaign was gathering momentum ahead of the 23 June referendum on membership of the European Union sent sterling sharply lower at the start of the week.

The latest Observer/Opinium poll of voting intentions, published on Sunday, revealed that 43% of Britons now back the UK´s exit from the EU, with support for remaining inside at 40%.

International events

The euro-area cannot afford to wait any longer on carrying out critical structural reforms, said European Central Bank president Mario Draghi.

Oversupply in global natural gas markets would keep spot prices under pressure until the end of the decade and might set the stage for supply-side challenges and security risks further down the road, the International Energy Administration said.

China’s central bank reiterated its forecast for economic growth of 6. 8% this year on Wednesday but cut its estimate on exports. Asia´s largest economy also saw a smaller than expected increase in its foreign trade surplus for May as import demand was unexpectedly strong.

The World Bank took an axe to its projections for global economic growth this year, while highlighting the impact which low commodity prices were having on the economies of emerging market commodity exporters.

The head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) said on Tuesday a post-Brexit Britain would have to negotiate trade deals from the beginning as no country has left the EU before and talks could take years.

The eurozone grew more than expected in the first quarter compared to the previous three months, Eurostat revealed on Tuesday. Eurostat's revised its second estimate of first quarter euro-area gross domestic product higher to 0.6% quarter-on-quarter growth from an initial forecast of 0.5%.

Further gradual interest rate increases in the US were likely to be appropriate, Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen said on Monday, but she did not comment on the timing of the first hike.

Germany’s 11th post-war president, Joachim Gauck, said he will not run for a second five-year term which could cause trouble for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition government on selecting a successor.