Shell CEO to step down, Wizz Air to purchase 102 Airbus A321s

London pre-open

The FTSE 100 was being called to open 23.3 points higher ahead of the bell on Thursday after closing 1.47% lower in the previous session at 7,277.30.

Stocks to watch

Oil and gas giant Shell revealed on Thursday that chief executive Ben van Beurden will step down from the role at the end of 2022 following a 39-year career with the group.

Shell stated that van Beurden will be succeeded by Wael Sawan on 1 January but will remain with the group until 30 June, acting as an advisor to the board, in order to ensure a smooth transition.

Low-cost carrier Wizz Air has reached an agreement with Airbus to purchase a further 102 A321 aircraft, the bulk of which will be delivered between 2025 and 2027.

Wizz Air exercised its purchase rights in relation to 75 Airbus A321neo aircraft and 27 Airbus A321XLR aircraft, with delivery dates of the purchase option aircraft subject to its agreement with Airbus and the approval of shareholders.

Newspaper round-up

California is suing Amazon, accusing the company of violating the state's antitrust laws by stifling competition and engaging in practices that push sellers to maintain higher prices on products on other sites. The 84-page lawsuit filed on Wednesday in San Francisco superior court mirrors another complaint filed last year by the District of Columbia, which was dismissed by a district judge earlier this year and is now going through an appeals process. – Guardian

Setting a new example in environmental corporate leadership, the billionaire owner of Patagonia is giving the entire company away to fight the Earth's climate devastation, he announced on Wednesday. Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, who turned his passion for rock climbing into one of the world's most successful sportswear brands, is giving the entire company to a uniquely structured trust and nonprofit, designed to pump all of the company's profits into saving the planet. – Guardian

The taxpayer is to fund profits of up to £1.6bn for energy suppliers this year after their earnings were protected in Liz Truss's freeze on household bills. Businesses will be allowed to make a margin of 1.9% on energy that they sell to the public through the Prime Minister's subsidy scheme, which caps the average bill at £2,500. – Telegraph

SoftBank is weighing up whether to launch a third large investment fund for start-ups as the Japanese conglomerate seeks to draw a line under record losses. Executives at the world's most prolific technology investor have held discussions over how to proceed after its billionaire founder pledged to move forward with care. – The Times

The company behind Scalextric and Airfix indicated yesterday that it had not fully complied with stock market disclosure rules regarding related-party transactions with a company owned by its executive chairman. Hornby bought about £502,000 of stock, tooling and other items from Oxford Diecast, which makes and supplies diecast model vehicles and was owned by LCD Enterprises, a company owned by Lyndon Davies, Hornby's chief executive. LCD was fully acquired by Hornby in July last year. – The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks closed slightly higher on Wednesday following the previous session's heavy CPI-fuelled losses.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.10% at 31,135.09, while the S&P 500 was 0.34% firmer at 3,946.01 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.74% stronger at 11,719.68.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com