Ocado forecasts small decline in FY sales, Future FY profits seen at top end of expectations

Stocks to watch

UK online grocery firm Ocado said it expects to see a small fall in annual sales as customers started to tighten their belts amid the cost of living crisis.

Ocado Retail, a joint venture between Ocado Group and retailer Marks & Spencer, also stated it now expects to deliver close to break-even core earnings. It had previously forecast both low single-digit revenue growth and profit margins.

Media company Future said on Tuesday that the "encouraging performance" detailed by the group in its June trading update had continued despite operating within a "challenging macro" environment.

Future stated that full-year adjusted operating profits were projected to be at the "top end" of market expectations of £266.4m to £270.7m after it witnessed a return to organic audience growth in the second half, with Covid comparators fully lapped.

Newspaper round-up

The UK's largest banks will be tested on their ability to withstand a rise in defaults linked to sky-high energy prices, as part of the Bank of England's delayed health check of the financial industry. The Guardian understands that Threadneedle Street has crafted a new crisis scenario that will feature a deep economic recession, punctuated by soaring energy bills that could make it harder for some borrowers – particularly businesses – to afford loan repayments. – Guardian

The administrator of the failed fund run by the former star stock-picker Neil Woodford could be forced to pay investors up to £306.0m in compensation, the City regulator has said. The Financial Conduct Authority said on Monday it was ordering the fund's administrator, Link, to ringfence the sum as part of conditions related to Link's takeover by the Canadian cloud-based software company Dye & Durham. – Guardian

Electric car owners will save up to a third on charging their cars thanks to Liz Truss's energy support pledge. The cost of charging will be held back under the Prime Minister's plan to cap the cost of electricity units, saving drivers around a third compared to what had been expected from next month. – Telegraph

Abcam is to go ahead with a plan to scrap its London listing after investors backed a proposal by the biotechnology company to have its shares traded solely in New York. The decision by the Cambridge-based business is a blow to the British stock market as it wrestles with competition from foreign exchanges. Abcam has a market capitalisation of almost £3.0bn, making it one of the biggest groups on Aim, London's junior market. It is also quoted on the Nasdaq in America. – The Times

The owners of Asda were dealt a blow yesterday after a leading credit rating agency warned about the highly-leveraged supermarket group's debts after its £600.0m purchase of Co-operative Group's petrol forecourts. Fitch Ratings said it was cutting its outlook on the investment vehicle that owns Britain's third-biggest supermarket chain from "stable" to "negative". – The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks finished above the waterline on Monday as market participants geared up for the release of August's consumer price index.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.71% at 32,381.34, while the S&P 500 added 1.06% to 4,110.41, and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.27% higher at 12,266.41.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com