Intertek reaffirms 2018 revenue target, Thomas Cook withdraws dividend

Stocks to watch

Quality assurance provider Intertek Group said group revenue rose 4.8% at constant exchange rates to £2.31bn and 0.5% at actual rates in the 10 months to 31 October as it reaffirmed its 2018 target of good organic revenue growth with moderate margin progression at constant currency and strong cash conversion. Year end net debt guidance was unchanged £800m-850m, assuming no further acquisitions and no significant forex changes, the company said.

Thomas Cook has withdrawn its dividend as it cut its annual profits guidance for the third time this year. The FTSE 250-listed tour operator, having only just issued a second profit warning in September, said its final result was expected to be around £30m lower than previously guided due to a number of legacy and non-recurring charges.

Bakery chain Greggs updated the market on its trading on Tuesday, reporting that the improved trading performance its reported in its third quarter update had strengthened further during October and to date in November. The FTSE 250 company said that in the eight weeks to 24 November, total sales grew 9%, up from 8.2% at the same time last year, and like-for-like sales in company-managed shops increased by 4.5%, in line with 2017. In the year-to-date, total sales had grown 6.6%, and like-for-like sales increased 2.5%.

Newspaper round-up

President Donald Trump has warned Britain “may not be able to trade with the US” because of Theresa May’s Brexit deal in comments that could torpedo her hopes of winning Parliament’s backing. Mr Trump said the agreement Mrs May reached with Brussels on Sunday “sounds like a great deal for the EU” as he urged the Prime Minister to think again. - Telegraph

Despite the encouragement of politicians and regulators keen to promote competition, small energy providers have started dropping like flies. Six household suppliers have gone bust this year. The largest two, Extra Energy and Spark Energy, with almost 400,000 household customers between them, collapsed last week. - The Times

Air pollution from roads causes at least €70bn (£62bn) in health damage every year in the European Union, according to a new report, with diesel fumes responsible for three-quarters of the harm. The research, commissioned by the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), found the vast majority of the costs were borne by taxpayers through government-funded health services. But these costs could be reduced by 80% by 2030 if ambitious action were taken, the report concluded. - Guardian

US close

Wall Street trading finished Monday in the green, as oil prices staged a timid bounce and stocks tried to recover from record-breaking losses over the Thanksgiving week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session up 1.46% at 24,640.24, the S&P 500 added 1.55% to 2,673.45, and the Nasdaq 100 was up 2.31% at 6,678.34.

On the geopolitical front, market participants were keeping a keen eye on events surrounding this week's G20 meeting in Buenos Aires, where it's expected that Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping will discuss trade.

"Expectations remain low about a solution in the short term with the prospect that tariffs could well increase at the beginning of next year from the current 10% to an increased rate of 25%," said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.

"While deal expectations have been set to a low level, an agreement to not implement the proposed increased rate at the beginning of next year could be described as progress."

Investors were also watching developments across the pond Theresa May's Brexit plan being signed off at the EU summit on Sunday and as Italian PM Matteo Salvini signalled over the weekend that the country may lower its contentious borrowing target.