- FTSE 100 closes 14 points lower
- Pound weaker against dollar
- US markets open lower
4.40pm: FTSE 100 finishes lower
At the close of trading, the UK’s blue-chip index had lost 14 points, or 0.2%, to finish at 7,764 points.
US CPI data is set to be released tomorrow afternoon, providing a glimpse into the effectiveness of the US Fed’s inflation-fighting efforts.
Closer to home, the UK’s central bank will raise interest rates for a 12th consecutive time on Thursday. Most analysts are expecting a quarter-point rise from the current 4.25% level.
“Having slowed the pace of tightening to the standard 25 basis points at its previous meeting in March, the market was initially quick to price out further rate rises,” StoneX’s Fawad Razaqzada wrote. “But inflation data had other ideas as UK CPI remained stubbornly high and above the 10% threshold. The persistence of inflation in double digits has increased the likelihood of another hike.”
4.19pm: FTSE, US markets down across the board
The FTSE 100 improved slightly towards the close of Tuesday trades, hitting 7,758, or 0.25% down against the previous closing price.
In the US, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.07% at the time of writing, while the tech-led Nasdaq index was over 0.5% down.
The wider S&P index, meanwhile, was around 0.3% lower.
3.58pm: Water company execs forgo bonuses
Three top executives of major British water companies will forgo their yearly bpnuses following a public outcry over the widespread and continuous dumping of sewerage into the nation’s rivers.
Nicola Shaw, head of Yorkshire Water, said he could understand the public’s “strength of feeling” over the issue, thus will give up a potential bonus ranging between £600,000 and £800,000 if the company were to hit its performance targets.
“This is the right thing to do and I’m committed to improving Yorkshire Water’s performance,” said Shaw
Sarah Bentley, chief executive of Thames Water, as well as the company’s chief financial officer Alastair Cochran, have also chosen to forego their bonuses.
Bentley said it “just did not feel like the right thing to take performance-related pay this year”.
Susan Davy, chief executive of South West Water, who received £522,000 in 2022, will also not be accepting a bonus.
“This is the right thing to do. We’re listening to our customers, we get it,” said Davy, whose company spilled untreated sewage 37,649 times last year.
Emma Clancy, head of the Consumer Council for Water, agreed that it was the right decision, stating: “Our recent research, Bridging the Gap, demonstrates that bonuses contribute to the public’s current frustration with the water industry. They desire greater transparency and openness on this matter. This announcement shows that their concerns are being heard.”
3.35pm: Activision lawyers up
Activision Blizzard has brought on Blackstone Chambers heavyweight silk Lord David Pannick KC to bring the fight to the UK Competition watchdog after it blocked Microsoft’s high-profile US$69bn takeover of the Call of Duty and World of Warcraft publisher.
Lord Pannick previously represent Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II in winning an injunction in the High Court to restrain The Daily Mirror from publishing further allegations about her home life.
Other clients have included Shemima Begum, Manchester City FC and The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He also advised former prime minister Boris Johnson on the partygate scandal.
The CMA’s decision to stop Microsoft’s takeover was met with bemusement from both sides of the table, with Microsoft and Activision pledging to fight the ruling.
3.16pm: Wall Street off to a poor start, British Airways owner leads London blue chips
The S&P 500 had a sluggish start to the day, falling 0.35% at the time of writing. While the tech-led Nasdaq index is currently around half a percent weaker against the Monday close.
However, AJ Bell’s investment director Russ Mould struck a bullish tone on the Nasadaq in comments provided over email this afternoon.
“It was the worst-performing major equity index in 2022 and, so far, it has been the best in 2023, so investors may well be tempted to think that the Nasdaq, and technology stocks more generally, are back in business, especially after the meaty rally in stocks such as Meta Platforms and Microsoft following their first-quarter results,” said Mould.
He added: “In addition, the US (and probably global) bellwether for technology stocks is up by 20% from its 2022 low and, arguably, entering a new bull market. However, it might not be quite as simple as that.
The Dow Jones industrial average is down around 0.14%.
Bank to the footsie, London’s blue-chip index is currently sitting at 7,750, marking a 0.37% daily dip.
British Airways owner, International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (LSE:IAG) is the leader of the pack with 2.5% on gains after analysts at Liberum said it could be worth as much as 350p per share.
That is more than double the 152p price it was fetching this morning.
2.45pm: Ryanair’s US$40bn order
Irish low-cost airline Ryanair has confirmed an order for 300 new aircraft at a cost of US$40bn (£32bn), marking the largest acquisition to date for the Euronext Dublin-listed carrier.
Of the 300 Boeing 737 MAX 10s on order, 150 orders have been firmly secured.
Negotiations for the acquisition had been in progress prior to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, but were halted in September 2021 due to the inability of Ryanair and Boeing to reach a mutually agreeable pricing agreement.
“We expect these new, larger, more efficient, greener, aircraft to drive further unit cost savings, which will be passed on to passengers in lower airfares,” said chief executive Michael O’Leary.
He added: “The extra seats, lower fuel burn and more competitive aircraft pricing supported by our strong balance sheet, will widen the cost gap between Ryanair and competitor EU airlines for many years to come.”
The 228-seat Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft have 228 seats- 21% more than the currently used modified Boeing 737 Max 8’s.
More seats mean more potential revenue, but the new aircraft will also have a downside.
As O’Leary stated back in March: “If you want us to buy an aircraft with 30 extra seats that we have to fill six times a day, that’s a lot of yield dilution. Therefore we need a much more competitive seat price if you want the extra 30 seats.”
Delivery of the aircraft is expected between 2027 and 2033.
RyanAir shares added around 1.4% in light of the news.
Back in London, the FTSE 100 recovered to 7,754 from an intraday low of 7,736, though remains 0.35% lower since last session’s close
2.20pm: Strikes planned for Elizabeth Line one-year anniversary
Transport union the TSSA has confirmed strikes on the Elizabeth Line will take place on the one-year anniversary, potentially leading to the closure of a section of the line.
members will walk out for the second time this year in their fight for equal pay with other workers on the £20bn project.
The TSSA claims that line managers employed by Rail for London Infrastructure (RfLI), a Transport for London subsidiary overseeing the line, receive significantly lower salaries compared to their counterparts in similar positions on other TfL services like the Tube and DLR.
TSSA organising director Mel Taylor said: “We’ve been in talks with management for almost a year now, yet the majority of our members have been offered an uplift of just over one per cent to make up for the huge pay differentials.
2.04pm: Cable seen lower
The pound has lost ground against the greenback today, as traders await the latest inflation data from the US due to come out on Wednesday.
One pound is currently buying 1.26 US dollars, marking a 0.15% dip since the close of yesterday’s bearish session.
Meanwhile, the euro is showing weakness against the pound, having fallen 0.2% to break below 87p for the first time since December 2022.
INMG analysts are calling the euro “the most overbought currency” in the G10 set.
Back to the stock market, the FTSE 100 remains on a downward trajectory today, knocking half a percent off for a current read of 7,736.
1.28pm: Here’s a quick recap of the top risers and fallers on the junior market today
Shares in Tirupati Graphite PLC (LSE:TGR, OTCQX:TGRHF) jumped over 8% in the wake of an encouraging trading update – one from which it emerged gross profit for the 12 months to 31 March 2023 had increased 170% year-on-year to £1.37ml
Shares in Osirium Technologies PLC (AIM:OSI) spiked 13% after the cyber-security specialist provided an upbeat update on first-quarter trading.
It said annual recurring revenue (ARR) was £2.04mln, an increase of 31% from the previous year and 10% from the previous quarter.
Shares in Echo Energy jumped 25%, gaining 0.01p, after confirming the partial sale of its working interest in the Santa Cruz Sur project.
Shares in FTSE 350-listed Marshalls PLC (LSE:MSLH) fell 6% to 275.4p after it warned on profits as the economic climate has continued to be “challenging”.
The paving specialist, for which this is not the first profit warning in the past 12 months, said trading performance in the year to date has been weaker than originally anticipated, with like-for-like revenue contracting 14%.
Purplebricks Group PLC (AIM:PURP) shares crashed to all-time low levels after it warned that talks to sell the online estate agency business, being held with “a small number of parties”, would be expected to deliver shareholder returns “materially below” the share price.
1.01pm: US stocks seen lower ahead of key data
US stocks are expected to open lower with attention turning to data on inflation with April’s consumer price index data due out Wednesday and producer price index on Thursday.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% in Tuesday’s pre-market trading, while those for the broader S&P 500 index also lost 0.4% and contracts for the Nasdaq-100 were down 0.5%.
The Dow closed Monday down 56 points, 0.2%, at 33,619, while the Nasdaq Composite added 22 points, 0.2%, to 12,257 and the S&P 500 gained 2 points to 4,138.
“Stateside the focus for investors will be on tomorrow’s inflation data, the only economic data of note today is the US NFIB small business optimism survey,” Patrick Munnelly, TickMill Group’s market analyst said.
The data on prices come on the heels of a strong reading in the non-farm payrolls on Friday, which dampened expectations that the Fed may start to lower interest rates after its spate of hikes. Data on Friday showed that the US labor market remains resilient, adding 253,000 jobs last month, compared to expectations of 180,000.
If inflation data this week continue to show that price pressures are not falling back, expectations of a rate reduction will start to look less likely.
Investors will also be looking for direction from US rate setters.
“With the central bank blackout period over, markets will also parse comments from Fed official Jefferson and Williams for further colour on the committee’s support for last week’s rate increase and any hints as to the future path for US interest rates,” added Munnelly.
12.39pm: Beazley supported by upbeat JP Morgan comments
Shares in Beazley rose 1.8% to 592p per share given a boost by positive comments from JP Morgan.
The investment bank reiterated an overweight rating on the FTSE 100-listed insurer with a price target of 835p.
Analyst Kamran Hossain noted shares in Beazley have had a difficult time in 2023 year to date.
But he continues to see material upside at the current levels with the valuation not reflecting the strong outlook for returns at the company between 2023 and 2025.
“The company has many attractive characteristics and has delivered superior returns over the long run,” Hossain commented.
“We expect the current issues to only be near-term noise rather than longer term headwinds.”
12.25pm: Cornwall Insight predicts less volatility in energy bills
Cornwall Insight’s price cap projections have shifted just £38 since March, with a typical household now predicted to pay approximately £2,060 per year from July.
The stabilisation of the forecasts reflects the decreased volatility in the wholesale energy market, with the relatively mild winter, higher than-predicted European storage levels and reduced demand from consumers, lowering concerns over supply.
If wholesale prices remain less volatile, it is thought an increasing number of energy suppliers could be prompted to introduce fixed-rate tariffs aligned with or close to the price cap, as they become less apprehensive about the possibility of a sudden surge in energy prices.
The research from Cornwall Insight showed that its predictions for the calendar third quarter have remained relatively stable since the end of February, fluctuating by around £100 over the past two months.
This compared to predictions at the start of the year which moved by over £6,002 from January to mid-February as the wholesale market shifted.
Looking further ahead, the predictions for the fourth quarter and the first quarter of 2024 show – all things remaining equal – the cap is expected to stay relatively steady.
12.09pm: Manufacturing bosses demand new industrial strategy
Britain needs to relaunch an industrial strategy and stop “flip flopping” on initiatives if it is to avoid falling behind on the global stage, manufacturing bosses have warned.
Make UK, which represents 20,000 manufacturers across the country, suggested British businesses risked losing out to companies elsewhere around the world because of the government’s lack of a long-term plan for industry, while Joe Biden’s $369bn (£292bn) Inflation Reduction Act sucks up investment.
In a stinging attack on successive Conservative governments for “flip flopping from one initiative to another,” it called for the creation of a royal commission to develop a long-term, modern industrial strategy to support companies across the UK.
Stephen Phipson, the chief executive of Make UK, said the UK was the only leading nation in the world without a comprehensive, long-term industrial plan. “If we are to not only tackle our regional inequality, but also compete on a global stage, we need a national industrial strategy as a matter of urgency,” he added.
“A lack of a proper, planned, industrial strategy is the UK’s achilles heel. Every other major economy, from Germany, to China, to the US, has a long-term national manufacturing plan, underlying the importance of an industrial base to the success of its wider economy.”
11.40am: Shares in IAG could be worth 350p – Liberum
British Airways owner, International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (LSE:IAG) could be worth as much as 350p per share, according to analysts at Liberum.
That is more than double the 152p price that shares are fetching today in London after a further 1.5% rise today.
In a note following the airline’s first quarter results on Friday, Liberum’s Gerald Khoo said a more favourable fuel cost outlook and resilient demand will drive material upgrades to short-term estimates.
He has updated his fuel price assumptions to reflect the sharp fall and now assumes $750/tonne for the unhedged portion of the fuel bill (vs. $900/tonne previously).
He explained supply chain bottlenecks constrain the industry’s ability to add excess capacity, “underpinning both strong unit revenue trends and our optimism on the outlook.”
“We consider IAG’s rating to not reflect its undiminished strategic positioning,” Khoo commented.
As a result, he raised his price target to 350p per share from 240p and reiterated a buy rating.
11.16am: FSB wants businesses to be allowed to renegotiate fixed price deals
The Federation of Small Business has caled on energy suppliers to allow firms locked into fixed price contracts to be able to renegotiate terms to stop further business failures.
Research by the business lobbying organisation showed more than one in ten (13%) small firms fixed their energy contracts during market peak and that 93,000 small firms now say they could be forced to close, downsize or radically restructure their businesses.
“Energy suppliers should give small firms the option to “blend and extend” their fixed energy contracts, renegotiating and signing up for longer,” the FSB said.
It warned hundreds of thousands of small businesses are trapped in contracts that mean their latest bills are at last summer’s peak market rate for energy – even though wholesale prices have fallen since last winter.
This comes a month after massive cuts to government support on energy bills for businesses.
“The downscaled government support means small firms that signed up to fixed tariffs in 2022 will see their bills revert back to last year’s peak levels,” the FSB commented.
A significant proportion of small firms stuck in fixed contracts are from the accommodation and food sector (28%), and the wholesale and retail sector (20%).
Four in ten (42%) small firms that fixed energy contracts in the second half of last year say it has been impossible for them to pass on costs to consumers who had to tighten spending and can’t afford further price increases amid the cost of living crisis.
FSB Policy Chair Tina McKenzie said: “There are signs that small businesses may be about to turn a corner after last year’s downturn. Giving small firms a way out of last year’s market peak rates will accelerate the progress to recovery.”
Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 has stabilised around the 7,750 mark, down 28 points.
10.48am: Retail sale rise 5.1% in April, according to BRC
UK total retail sales increased by 5.1% in April compared to a decline of 0.3% in April 2022, according to figures from the British Retail Consortium.
This is in line with the 3-month average growth of 5.1% and above the 12-month average growth of 3.0%, the BRC said.
On a like-for-like basis retail sales increased by 5.2% in April, against a decline of 1.7% in April 2022.
Food sales increased 9.8% on a total basis and 10.0% on a like-for-like basis over the three months to April, above the 12-month total average growth of 6.3%.
Non-food sales increased 1.2% on a total basis and 0.8% on a like-for-like basis over the three-months to April. This is above the 12-month Total average growth of 0.2%. For the month of April, Non-Food was in growth year-on-year.
Over the three months to April, in-store non-food sales increased 3.9% on a total basis and 3.3% on a like-for-like basis since April 2022.
Online non-food sales decreased by 3.6% in April, against a decline of 13.9% in April 2022, steeper than the 3-month average decline of 2.9%.
Helen Dickinson OBE, Chief Executive of the BRC said: “While retail sales grew in April, overall inflation meant volumes were down for both food and non-food as customers continued to adjust spending habits.”
“Clothing sales underperformed as the poor weather left customers thinking twice before decking out their summer wardrobe.”
“Retailers hope sales will improve over the warmer summer months, especially as consumer confidence stabilises and inflation begins to ease,” she added.
Myron Jobson at interactive investor noted while retail sales experienced robust growth last month, “a closer look at the data reveals it’s not all as it seems.”
Jobson explained that volumes for both food and non-food were down last month “as the ongoing cost of living squeeze on budgets continue to force many Britons to adjust their spending habits.”
“Baskets are getting smaller and more of us are ditching premium brands for cheaper alternatives, while many are reducing spend on nice-to-have’ items,” he added.
9.58am: Sainsbury cuts price of bread and butter
Some relief for shoppers. Supermarket chain J Sainsbury PLC (LSE:SBRY) has cut the price of its own brand butter and bread.
The supermarket is reducing its own branded salted butter from £1.99 to £1.89 for 250g packets from Tuesday while it’s also cutting the price of its own-brand bread to 75p from 85p.
Sainsbury’s said it was able to lower some of its bread and butter prices due to wholesale prices beginning to fall.
“Whenever we are paying less for the products we buy from our suppliers, we will pass those savings on to customers,” the UK’s second largest supermarket chain said.
Wholesale food prices have been falling globally, but supermarkets have been criticised for not passing on price falls quickly enough.
Inflation was expected to fall below 10% last month but soaring food prices meant it fell by less than expected.
9.26am: Pearson highlights AI opportunities
Pearson PLC (LSE:PSON) has highlighted the opportunities offered by AI as it moved to reassure the market after concerns that the new technology could hit the company.
The education publisher said AI will “further strengthen the company’s position as a digital-first learning company focused on delivering an unmatched experience for the consumer across their lifetime of learning.”
Andy Bird, Chief Executive, explained AI has played an important role across its product portfolio for many years.
He expects it “to create significant positive opportunities for Pearson, due to our unrivalled depth of content and data.”
He said the firm will embed this technology across key products throughout the portfolio in a way that enhances the teaching and learning experience and has several projects well underway,
Pearson said it remains “on track to achieve our 2023 guidance” and is confident of meeting financial expectations for the medium term.
The reassuring words have certainly helped. Shares are 3.9% higher at 850p. Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 has slipped back, now down 18 points.
8.52am: FTSE hovers around opening levels, UK rate call in focus
The FTSE 100 is see sawing either side of the opening line in early exchanges with Thursday’s interest rate call on the horizon.
Victoria Scholar, Head of Investment, interactive investor said: “Focus is on the Bank of England’s monetary policy decision on Thursday with expectations for a further quarter point increase to 4.5%, marking the twelfth consecutive rate rise.”
“Goldman Sachs has warned that the UK bank rate may need to increase further to 5% by August ‘amid ongoing inflationary pressures,’ she noted.
Economists at Citi expect a 25 basis point rate increase on Thursday and feels a further 25bp rise is “likely” in June given the Bank of England “remains lumbered with inflationary risks that can only be evaluated in a backward-looking manner.”
“By August, we think a window for a credible pause may still emerge,” Citi said.
JD Sports continues to lead the way in the FTSE 100, up 2.8%, after its proposed expansion into Europe was well received but Direct Line’s cautious outlook is weighing on Admiral PLC which has fallen 2%.
Matt Britzman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown feels “the road ahead continues to look bumpy for Direct Line.”
“Just as weather-related claims ease back to more normal levels, there’s little in the way of a let-off for the Motor division as damage-related claims tick higher.”
“Add in claims inflation that continues to run at high single-digit levels, and the outlook for insurance profitability gets a little murky,” he commented.
British Airways owner, IAG, has made further gains after Friday’s results with broker Liberum raising its price target to 350p from 240p.
Shares rose 1% to 151.50p.
8.15am: FTSE little changed at the open
The FTSE 100 made a subdued start after the long weekend as investors look ahead to US inflation figures on Wednesday and the UK interest rate decision on Thursday.
At 8.15am, London’s blue chip index stood at 7,782.15, up 3.77 points, or 0.048% while the FTSE 250 was down 17.11 points to 19,435.39.
JD Sports Fashion PLC (LSE:JD.) made a bright start to the day with shares rising 3.5% after the sports retailer unveiled the planned acquisition of Groupe Courir in France for an enterprise value of €520mln.
Based in France, Courir is a leading player in the European sports footwear and clothing sector with 313 stores bannered across six countries.
Analysts at Peel Hunt said, “We expect further M&A to follow – JD is keen to continue its expansion into most of its current territories and Courir fits the bill.”
The group said the deal will need EU approval and completion is not expected before the second half of 2023.
Régis Schultz said: “We are delighted to announce the proposed acquisition of Courir, a business that is held in high regard in the European sportswear community.”
Heading the other way was Marshalls with shares tumbling 12% after it warned that trading in the year to date has been weaker than originally anticipated.
In a trading update covering the first four months of the year, the building materials company said that on a like-for-like basis, group revenue contracted by 14% reflecting the uncertain macro-economic climate, a reduction in new house building and continued weakness in private housing RMI activity.
Direct Line Insurance Group PLC (LSE:DLG) was another stock on the wane.
The share price of the online insurer fell 5% after it warned of a further adverse claims in its motor business.
““We have experienced further adverse claims development in respect of late 2022 and early 2023 in Motor (including Commercial Motor) particularly in relation to damage. This is expected to put pressure on earnings in 2023 including from prior-year reserve releases,” the online insurer said in a statement.”
8.00am: JD Sports in European expansion
JD Sports Fashion PLC (LSE:JD.) is looking to expand its European operations through a planned €520mln acquisition of Groupe Courir in France.
Based in France, Courir is a leading player in the European sports footwear and clothing sector with 313 stores bannered across six countries.
The deal will need EU approval and completion is not expected before the second half of 2023.
The €520mln enterprise value includes €195mln of debt. Excluding this the amount payable at completion would be €325mln which would be funded through available cash resources.
Régis Schultz said: “We are delighted to announce the proposed acquisition of Courir, a business that is held in high regard in the European sportswear community.”
7.51am: Marshalls cuts guidance
Marshalls PLC (LSE:MSLH) has warned that the tough macro-economic climate which remains “challenging” has meant trading performance in the year to date has been weaker than originally anticipated.
In a trading update covering the first four months of the year, Marshalls said that on a like-for-like basis, group revenue contracted by 14% reflecting the uncertain macro-economic climate, a reduction in new house building and continued weakness in private housing RMI activity.
Marshalls highlighted a recent cut in a forecast for construction output by the Construction Products Association.
Taking these factors together, the Board now expects to deliver a result that is lower than its original expectations.
7.46am: UK house prices fall in April – Halifax
UK house prices fell back after three months of growth and were unchanged from a year ago as inflation and increased borrowing costs hit incomes, according to new figures.
High street lender, Halifax said prices declined 0.3% between March and April, which partially offset 0.8% increase in the previous month.
Instant Info – Halifax UK House Price Index pic.twitter.com/EKMjb0DAtM
— BuiltPlace (@BuiltPlace) May 9, 2023
A decline at the end of 2022 preceded “a rebound in the first quarter”, Kim Kinnaird, director at Halifax Mortgages, said.
A typical property costs £286,896, about £7,000 below last summer’s peak but £28,000 higher than two years ago.
Kinnaird said: “Alongside a market-wide uptick in mortgage approvals, these latest figures may indicate a more steady environment.”
“However, cost of living concerns remain real for many households, which will likely continue weigh on sentiment and activity.”
“Combined with the impact of higher interest rates gradually feeding through to those re-mortgaging their current fixed-rate deals, we should expect some further downward pressure on house prices over course of this year,” she said.
The Halifax figures contrast with those from a Nationwide survey that showed a 0.5 per cent rise.
7.41am: DCC’s CEO steps back for medical treatment
DCC PLC (LSE:DCC)‘s Chief Executive Donal Murphy is steping back from his day-to-day duties while a medical condition is assessed.
In a statement, the Irish international sales, marketing and support services group said Murphy will remain involved in the business, and his day-to-day responsibilities will be assumed by Kevin Lucey, Chief Financial Officer.
Murphy is expected to make a full return to work before DCC’s AGM in July.
7.31am: Rising prices support Direct Line but more claims in Motor
Direct Line Insurance Group PLC (LSE:DLG) reported an increase in average renewal premiums as higher prices in its Motor division helped boost margins but warned of a further jump in claims in its motor division.
“We have experienced further adverse claims development in respect of late 2022 and early 2023 in Motor (including Commercial Motor) particularly in relation to damage. This is expected to put pressure on earnings in 2023 including from prior-year reserve releases,” the online insurer said in a statement.
Weather claims were modest during the first quarter and well within the 2023 full year assumption of £80mln, the company said.
Direct Line said it continued to expect high single digits inflation across Motor and Home, “albeit there continues to be a range of potential outcomes depending on future economic conditions.”
The company said total group adjusted gross written premium income climbed 8.4% to £771.7mln, with growth of 3.3% in Motor to £358.7mln and in in Home of 2.1% to £129.0mln.
“In Home, we observed significant price increases across the market,” Direct Line said.
In Commercial, the strong premium growth seen in 2022 continued in the first quarter with gross written premium growth of 27.6% driven by both direct own brands and NIG and other.
7.00am: FTSE 100 set for steady progress
Good morning. The FTSE 100 is expected to open higher after the long weekend as investors look ahead to the Bank of England’s interest rate call and US inflation figures on Wednesday.
Spread betting companies are calling London’s lead index up by around 21 points.
In the US on Monday markets were mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.2%, the S&P 500 closed flat, and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.2%.
In Tokyo on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 index was 1.1% higher. In China, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.2%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong slipped 0.6%.
Back in London and the early focus will be a trading update from Direct Line Insurance Group.
