Mondi anticipates first half profit leap

City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open 37 points lower than Tuesday's close of 6,505.13.

Stocks to watch

First-half profits from Mondi will be well ahead of those from last year, the paper and packaging maker said in a short trading statement. Basic underlying earnings per share will be up roughly 25-35%, with headline EPS up around 18-28%.

Clothing retailer Next has raised its sales and profit guidance for the year as warmer weather at the end of the season boosted second-quarter sales. The company raised its full-year pre-tax profit guidance to between £805m and £845m from a previous range of £785m to £835m and lifted its sales guidance range to between 3.5% and 6% from previous guidance of between 1.5% and 5.5%.

In the press

David Cameron will promise today to unmask the corrupt offshore companies that are buying up luxury London properties using “plundered and laundered cash”. In a vow to stop Britain from becoming a haven for “dirty money”, the prime minister will disclose plans to shine a light on the secretive and sometimes criminal companies buying homes in the most exclusive areas, The Times reports.

The chancellor has been warned that Britain’s economic recovery could be derailed by a new credit squeeze on small companies if proposals from a Swiss committee that sets global lending standards are implemented. The Times reports groups including the Federation of Small Businesses and the British Bankers’ Association have written to George Osborne urging him to intervene to lobby for a “rethink” over plans that could significantly increase the cost of lending to businesses.

The European Central Bank should stand ready to use the full force of its financial firepower to stop the eurozone from falling into renewed turmoil in the wake of the Greek crisis, according to the International Monetary Fund. The Daily Telegraph reports in its annual health-check of the eurozone, the IMF made a controversial claim for the ECB to extend its unprecedented programme of quantitative easing beyond a provisional September 2016 end date.

US close

US stocks closed lower on Monday on the back of a global sell-off triggered by a sharp decline in Chinese stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.7%, the S&P 500 fell 0.6% and the Nasdaq ended 1% lower. Shares in Mylan NV plunged 14.5% as Teva Pharmaceutical Industries announced it had withdrawn its offer for the drug maker after agreeing to acquire Allergan’s generic drug-making business for $40.5bn. Fiat Chrysler ended in the red as it emerged the company faces a $105m civil fine and will need to buy back 500,000 Ram pickup trucks in order to settle legal problems.