Currys pulls final dividend over Nordics, LondonMetric sells five properties

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 39 points lower on Thursday, having closed down 1.03% on Wednesday at 7,442.10.

Stocks to watch

UK electrical retailer Currys pulled its final dividend, citing an uncertain outlook as annual profits fell due to its poorly-performing Nordics division but came in at the top end of guidance. Group adjusted profit before tax fell 38% to £119m, at top end of guidance, due to lower Nordic profits. On a statutory basis the seller of fridges and computers company swung to a pre-tax loss of £450m, driven by a previously announced non-cash goodwill impairment of £511m.

LondonMetric Property said it has sold five assets for £42.8m, reflecting a net initial yield of 4.5%, the company said on Thursday. The combined sales are in line with the 31 March 2023 book value.

Newspaper round-up

The world’s 722 biggest companies collectively are making more than $1tn a year (£780bn) in windfall profits on the back of soaring energy prices and rising interest rates, according to research by development charities. The companies made $1.08tn this way in 2021 and $1.09tn last year, according to analysis of Forbes magazine data by the charities Oxfam and ActionAid. The collective profits were 89% higher than the previous four-year average covering 2017-2020. – Guardian

More than 70% of “prime central London” properties sold so far this year have been bought entirely in cash, according to a report by estate agents Savills that fuels concerns that rich overseas buyers are snapping up properties at the expense of working Londoners. A total of 71% of prime central London – an estate agent term for an area that stretches from Chelsea to Camden and Notting Hill to Westminster – have been bought mortgage-free in the seven months from January. That compares with about 35% for the UK as a whole. – Guardian

Britain has suffered the worst house price falls of any major European economy as persistent inflation and rising mortgage rates deter buyers. House prices in the UK fell by 3.1pc on an annual basis in the first three months of 2023, compared with a 1pc fall in Germany and a 2.7pc rise in France during the same period, according to a report from Knight Frank. In Italy, prices grew by 1.1pc, while Spain recorded growth of 3.1pc. – Telegraph

A health technology business co-founded by Daniel Ek, the chief executive of Spotify, has raised €60 million to open clinics throughout Europe and Britain that aim to pick up serious diseases early. Neko Health has developed a body-scanning technology that it is claimed can give patients a full check-up in about ten minutes. Seventy different sensors will search for health issues, monitoring moles, skin changes, body temperature and mapping the cardiovascular system, while a nurse will take blood to look for diseases such as diabetes. Once the scan is completed, underlying problems can be identified and recommendations offered. – The Times

Asda has been summoned to appear before MPs again after “discrepancies” emerged over its fuel pricing strategy and “unclear” fire-and-rehire policy. The Commons’ business and trade committee has written to Mohsin Issa, a co-owner of Asda, about “concerns” regarding comments made by the supermarket chain’s chief commercial officer at an evidence session on fuel and food prices inflation. – The Times

US close

Wall Street closed on a softer note on Wednesday as investors reacted to a mixture of disappointing Chinese economic data and the release of the Federal Reserve's latest minutes.

By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had dipped 0.38% to 34,288.64 points, while the broader S&P 500 index was down 0.2% at 4,446.82 points.

The tech-centric Nasdaq Composite lost 0.18% to end the session at 13,791.65 points.

In currency markets, the dollar was last 0.01% stronger on sterling at 78.72p, while it weakened 0.12% against the yen to trade at JPY 144.49.

The greenback remained steady against the euro, however, and was last changing hands at 92.13 euro cents.