Berkeley profits jump, Anglo American's De Beers diamond sales weaken

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 26 points lower on Wednesday, having closed down 0.25% on Tuesday at 7,569.31.

Stocks to watch

Housebuiler Berkeley Group posted a 9.5% jump in full-year pre-tax profit to £604m as it hailed a "strong operating performance in a challenging environment".

Anglo American announces the value of rough diamond sales for De Beers' fifth sales cycle of 2023, amounting to $450m. That compared to $479m in the third cycle of the year, and $657m in the same cycle last year.

Newspaper round-up

Some of the UK’s best known retailers including WH Smith, Marks & Spencer, Argos and LloydsPharmacy are at the head of a list of more than 200 companies collectively fined £7m for failing to pay the legal minimum wage. The businesses were also forced to pay out £4.9m to about 63,000 workers left out of pocket after violations of the rules were uncovered by inspectors at HMRC, varying from breaches related to asking workers to pay for aspects of their uniform to paying the incorrect apprenticeship rate. – Guardian

Rolls-Royce’s new boss has said the British company is ready to rejoin the market for smaller jet engines once manufacturers build a new generation of planes. Tufan Erginbilgic told reporters at the Paris air show on Tuesday that the company was “actually ready” to re-enter the market for engines for single-aisle jets, although it would probably take a decade for a new opportunity to come up. – Guardian

A plan to build the first supersonic passenger jet since the Concorde has taken a significant step forward after the company behind the effort signed key deals to design and build the plane. Boom Supersonic, which aims to have Concorde-style jets flying by 2027, said Italian aerospace giant Leonardo would make part of the fuselage on its new aircraft. – Telegraph

The CBI has been barred from attending meetings with other top lobby groups as it seeks to re-establish itself after a sexual misconduct scandal. It has been denied entry to meetings with ministers alongside other leading business groups, including the Federation of Small Business, the British Chambers of Commerce, the Institute of Directors and Make UK, according to the Financial Times. – The Times

The true cost of Debenhams’ demise has been laid bare in documents that show clothing suppliers, landlords and lenders will not recover £1.3 billion they were owed before the retailer collapsed. The beleaguered British department stores group fell into liquidation in December 2020, bringing down the curtain on 242 years of trading. The pandemic proved to be the final straw for a business that had been struggling for years, falling into administration in 2019 before Covid-19 struck. – The Times

US close

Wall Street's leading indices concluded Tuesday's trading session with losses following a long holiday weekend, as investors kept a cautious stance ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's upcoming Congressional testimony.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.72% at 34,053.87, while the S&P 500 retreated 0.47%, finishing at 4,388.71.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite meanwhile trimmed 0.16%, closing at 13,667.29.

In the foreign exchange market, the dollar advanced against both the sterling and the euro, strengthening by 0.18% to 78.32 pence and by 0.05% to 91.6 euro cents respectively.

However, it weakened against the yen, declining by 0.38% to change hands at JPY 141.44.