Weekly review

The FTSE 100 ended the week up 30.03 points, or 0.4%, at 7,470.71.

Equity view

Investors in Cairn Energy were gathering in Edinburgh on Friday for the company’s annual general meeting, with chief executive Simon Thomson set to update them on the firm’s strategy to deliver “sustainable value growth” for shareholders from a “balanced portfolio” of exploration, development and production assets.

Menswear specialist Moss Bros reported a rise in sales for the first 15 weeks of the year as it expressed confidence it will meet its market expectations for the year.

Newspaper publisher Johnston Press posted a 0. 2% rise in total revenues for the 17-week period to the end of April as it noted that trading conditions for regional newspapers remain challenging.

Shawbrook Group suitor Pollen Street has extended its offer deadline as it looks to coax more shareholders to support its takeover offer of the challenger bank.

Pharma group Hikma has updated its guidance on full year revenue to be $2bn - $2.1bn in constant currency after last week's delay of an application for its asthma drug by US regulators.

GSK said its mepolizumab treatment met co-primary efficacy endpoints and all secondary endpoints in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study on patients who have a form of vasculitis.

Investec reported a 18. 5% increase in full-year statutory operating profits to £599.1m which drove a 6.3% rise in statutory earnings per share to 48.3p.

Financial advising firm Hargreaves Lansdown said assets under administration rose 10% to £77bn as it reported a trading update for the four months to April 30 and announced that chairman Mike Evans was stepping down.

Royal Mail reported a 25. 5% jump in full-year pre-tax profit as revenues nudged higher, although the group did caution that sales in the UK are likely to fall.

Pub group Mitchells & Butlers reported a drop in profit for the 28 weeks to 8 April despite a rise in sales as it pointed to increased costs and exchange rate movements.

Tullow Oil has made a new discovery at the Emekuya-1 well in Block 13T, Northern Kenya.

Trade publication and events group UBM has performed in line with management expectations and its outlook for the full year is unchanged.

Energy company SSE posted its preliminary results for the year to 31 March on Wednesday, with the board lifting its recommended full-year dividend by 2. 1% to 91.3p while adjusted earnings per share were up 5.2% at 125.7p.

Full year pre-tax profits at business support group DCC rose 23. 7% to £268.2m on the back of a 17% rise in revenue to £12.2bn.

FTSE 250 housebuilder Crest Nicholson said on Tuesday that trading remains in line with expectations and it's on track to deliver revenue growth of around 10% for the year to the end of October 2017.

FTSE 250 car dealership Inchcape has won a contract with Groupe PSA in Australia to distribute its Peugeot and Citroen brands.

OM Asset Management (OMAM) said it would place 17.3m ordinary shares at $14.55 each in a public offering.

Vodafone said it had agreed to transfer 35% of its indirect shareholding in Safaricom to Vodacom Group, its sub-Saharan African subsidiary, for 226.8m new Vodacom shares.

Electra Private Equity and its investment manager Epiris announced on Monday that its portfolio company AXIO Group has agreed the sale of intellectual property and technology services provider TechInsights to Oakley Capital.

Dignity reported a 15% jump in revenue for the first quarter as underlying profit and the number of deaths rose and the company reiterated its full-year expectations.

High-performance polymer company Victrex posted its interim results for the six months to 31 March on Monday, with group sales volumes rising 5% year-on-year to 1,859 tonnes.

Economic news

A large majority of UK consumers are worried about the rising cost of household items in the aftermath of upcoming Brexit negotiations, a new survey has found.

UK manufacturing output in the three months to May was much stronger than expected, according to a Confederation of British Industry survey published on Friday.

Any trade deal negotiated by the EU following the conclusion of Brexit negotiations must meet the standards set by the bloc for labour and competition rules, the European Commission’s Margrethe Vestager has said.

UK April retail sales rose by an above expected by 2. 3% compared to a 1. 4% fall in March, the Office for National Statistics said.

Household finances in the UK remain under the greatest pressure since mid-2014 amid rising inflation, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

Although the UK unemployment rate fell to its lowest since 1975, weekly wage growth slowed to heap further pressure on consumers already battling with rising inflation.

UK house prices are falling, official data confirmed on Tuesday, and are likely to continue doing as the housing market is hit by a softening consumer environment and sterling volatility that erodes the appeal for overseas investors.

UK inflation is spiking higher than expected, with official data on Tuesday showing consumer prices rising well above the Bank of England's 2% target and at their fastest in three and a half years.

UK retailers enjoyed greater footfall in their shops in April, helped by a later Easter and the weak pound boosting tourism and staycation holidays.

The mammoth construction of the Elizabeth line underground railway in London is set to return to British screens, Transport for London and the BBC confirmed on Monday, as fresh data pointed to a boost for house prices in areas surrounding Crossrail stations.

International events

US President Donald Trump has put the wheels in motion on a major trade shake-up, after his administration triggered the renegotiation of the North-American Free Trade Agreement on Thursday.

Crude-oil futures bubbled their way to roughly month highs on hopes that Opec will extend its output curbs when it meets next week in Vienna.

US President Donald Trump and his campaign had as many as 18 undisclosed contacts with Russian officials during last year's election, Reuters has reported.

Capital markets in Brazil were sent into a tailspin by allegations that president Michel Temer had sanctioned paying bribes to the main architect of ex-president Dilma Rousseff's ouster.

The cost of living in the euro area picked up in April amid broad gains for inflation across all categories.

US President Donald Trump asked former FBI director James Comey to drop an investigation into his ex-national security adviser Michael Flynn, according to a memo leaked to the New York Times.

German economic sentiment improved less than expected in May, according to the latest survey from the ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim.

Coalition discussions in the Netherlands have broken down after four parties could not agree a stance on migration following March's election.

Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed to a nine-month extension of the supply cuts agreed to in November 2016, issuing a strongly worded statement that sparked gains in crude oil futures.

Portugal's economy hit its stride at the start of the year with activity expanding its fastest clip since the last quarter of 2007.