Tesco holds guidance, ITV mulling All3Media acquisitions

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 12 points higher on Friday, having closed up 0.34% on Thursday at 7,628.26.

Stocks to watch

Supermarket giant Tesco said first-quarter sales had surged 8.8% and maintained annual guidance, adding that there were “encouraging” early signs that inflation was starting to ease for struggling customers. The company on Friday said sales in the 13 weeks to April 27 came in at £13.8bn on a like for like basis.

ITV is in talks about the possible acquisition of All3Media, the independent production company behind The Traitors, it confirmed on Friday. Responding to press speculation, the broadcaster said in a brief statement that it was "actively exploring" a potential deal.

Newspaper round-up

MPs have urged the government to set out its plans to protect households from high energy bills this winter as they said about 1.7 million people, including some of the most vulnerable groups, had been left waiting too long to receive previous support. The public accounts committee (PAC) said that although schemes were introduced quickly, the government “did not have the bandwidth” to make sure help reached all groups in a timely fashion. – Guardian

The UK is in danger of being left behind in the global race to decarbonise the economy with potentially disastrous consequences for jobs and communities, according to the TUC’s general secretary. In an interview, Paul Nowak said the UK was “limping towards a green future” and he called for a “national collective effort” involving employers, workers and the government to ensure a quick and fair transition to a net zero economy. – Guardian

Three million middle class homeowners are at risk of having their savings wiped out by the recent surge in mortgage costs, a leading think-tank has warned. Analysis from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) suggests 2.9m middle income mortgage holders would exhaust their savings and be forced to ask for help to meet an unexpected expense of around £2,000. – Telegraph

American regulators are investigating Goldman Sachs over its dealings with Silicon Valley Bank in the days before the regional US lender’s collapse this spring. Both the US Federal Reserve and the Securities and Exchange Commission are looking at the investment banking group’s role in the weeks before Silicon Valley Bank’s failure, according to The Wall Street Journal, which reported that it had also been issued with a subpoena by the US Department of Justice. – The Times

The chief executive of the soda ash supplier WE Soda has suggested that the company might opt for New York instead of London if he resurrects the flotation plans that were abruptly shelved this week. In a double blow for London, WE Soda first dropped plans for a landmark £6 billion initial public offering on Wednesday. It then rubbed salt in the wound yesterday by saying that the US might be a better place to float next time. – The Times

US close

Thursday proved to be a fruitful day for Wall Street, with all of the major stock indices closing in the green, and the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite closed at 14-month highs amidst a flurry of economic data.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.26% at 34,408.06, as the S&P 500 ended the trading day ahead 1.22% at 4,425.84.

The Nasdaq Composite, populated heavily by tech stocks, gained 1.15% to close out the session at 13,782.82.

In currencies, the dollar was last 0.03% weaker against sterling to trade at 78.2p, while it slid 0.02% on the euro to 91.35 euro cents.

The greenback showed the most significant change against the yen, last falling 0.29% to change hands at JPY 139.88.