RS Group flags strong operating profits, Entain to buy media firm 365scores

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open four points higher on Wednesday, having closed down 0.5% on Tuesday at 7,634.52.

Stocks to watch

RS Group said it expected annual adjusted operating profit to be slightly ahead of estimates after a 1% rise in fourth-quarter like-for-like revenue despite weak electronics sales. The electronics product distributor, formerly known as Electrocomponents, added that full year revenue would be in line with consensus and was well positioned to face the more difficult market environment.

Ladbrokes owner Entain said on Wednesday that it has agreed to buy sports media business 365scores for up to $160m (£128m). It said 365scores is one of the world's leading scores and sports media companies, providing scores and sports information, editorial and social content, as well as sports-focused free-to-play games.

Newspaper round-up

Revenue officials are not paying enough attention to a new tax on big tech firms’ earnings in the UK and are therefore failing to scrutinise potential avoidance, parliament’s spending watchdog has warned. While the digital services tax brought in a surprise bumper income in its first year, MPs on the cross-party public accounts committee said this suggests HM Revenue and Customs officials had failed to properly understand its impact. – Guardian

Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $8.9bn to settle tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging that talc in its iconic Baby Powder and other products caused cancer, the company said. The amount dwarfs J&J’s original offer of $2bn. The agreement follows a January appeals court ruling invalidating J&J’s controversial “Texas two-step” bankruptcy manoeuvre, in which it sought to offload the talc liability on to a subsidiary that immediately filed for Chapter 11. – Guardian

A Bank of England policymaker has insisted that its Covid money-printing spree is not to blame for double-digit inflation amid the steepest price rises in 41 years. Silvana Tenreyro said that an £895bn bond-buying programme designed to prop up the economy during lockdown had been wholly misunderstood. – Telegraph

Microsoft has stressed its commitment to Britain after reportedly shelving plans to establish a new office in London, months after announcing proposals to lay off 10,000 staff across the world. The American technology group had been searching for a location in the capital to replace its current office leases in Reading, which are set to expire in 2026, according to the property website React News, which said it had abandoned this plan. – The Times

Partners at Grant Thornton took a pay cut last year, as Britain’s sixth largest accountancy firm chose to spend more money on other pay rises, promotions and hiring a record number of school-leavers. Revenue rose by 12 per cent to £610 million in 2022 from £543 million the year before, although that compared with growth of 15 per cent during an “exceptional” 2021. – The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks closed lower on Tuesday as market participants continued to zero in on moves in the energy market and digested labour market data from the Census Bureau.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.59% at 33,402.38, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.58% to 4,100.60 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.52% weaker at 12,126.33

The Dow closed 198.77 points lower on Tuesday, taking a bite out of gains recorded in the previous session as the blue-chip index kicked off the second quarter in much the same way it wrapped up the first.

Investors were still focussed on oil prices throughout the session, with West Texas Intermediate futures sitting at around $80.98 per barrel, while Brent Crude futures moved to $84.94 per barrel. Tuesday morning's moves come after crude prices got a boost on Monday after OPEC+ announced it would slash output by 1.16m barrels of oil per day.

Comments from JP Morgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon also drew an amount of attention, with the bank's head honcho warning that the US banking crisis was far from being over.