3i Group makes positive start to year, SSE reiterates earnings guidance
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open two points lower on Thursday, having closed up 1.8% on Wednesday at 7,588.20.
Stocks to watch
3i Group reported a positive start to its new financial year on Thursday, with a first-quarter increase in net asset value per share, and a total return of 4.1% for the period. The FTSE 100 firm said its portfolio company, the Benelux discount retailer Action, showed significant net sales and operating EBITDA growth, driven by high customer footfall. Additionally, the majority of its private equity portfolio performed well, while investment activity was focused on bolt-on transactions and the successful issue of a €500m euro bond.
SSE reiterated its full-year earnings guidance on Thursday, despite dry, still weather hitting renewables output. The blue chip energy group said its renewables performance in the first quarter had been lower than planned, equating to a 5% shortfall on its planned renewables output the year. But it added it had seen a return to more normal weather in the second quarter, with the financial year’s most important months still to come.
Newspaper round-up
The City regulator has said it has contacted the owner of Coutts bank amid a growing row over its decision to close Nigel Farage’s accounts, but told MPs that while lenders cannot discriminate against customers, it is ultimately up to firms to decide who to do business with. It came as the prime minister, the home secretary and the City minister waded in to the growing debate over the rights of lenders to shut or refuse accounts based on concerns over customers’ political views. – Guardian
Netflix added 5.9 million new subscribers in the last three months – almost three times as many as analysts expected – after clamping down on households that were sharing their passwords. The streaming giant is the first of the big tech and media companies to unveil their latest quarterly results. The figures come as strikes from writers and actors have hit the industry – the first time both unions have walked out since the 1960s. – Guardian
The billionaire co-owner of Asda has been reprimanded for stonewalling MPs after failing to answer “simple questions” on fuel price rises. Mohsin Issa was criticised for “wasting time” at the Business & Trade Committee, after repeatedly being asked why regulators had found Asda’s fuel margin targets were three times higher than in 2019. – Telegraph
Revenue at Tesla has risen to a record after the electric carmaker cut prices in an attempt to boost sales, denting profit margins. Net income at the business climbed 20 per cent to $3.15 billion in the second quarter, as total revenue jumped 47 per cent to $24.9 billion. The group, led by Elon Musk, hailed a “record quarter on many levels”, pointing to robust growth in production and deliveries. The company’s shares were down by 98 cents, or 0.3 per cent, at $290.28 in after-hours trading last night. – The Times
One of Europe’s largest operators of automated parcel lockers is paying £49.3 million to buy a 30 per cent stake in Menzies Distribution as part of a push into Britain. InPost, a Polish company listed in Amsterdam, also has agreed a three-year option to acquire the remaining 70 per cent of the Scottish logistics business. – The Times
US close
US stocks finished on a positive note on Wednesday despite some fresh earnings reports from the likes of Goldman Sachs falling short of Wall Street estimates.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.31% at 35,061.21 points, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.24% to 4,565.72.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite eked gains of 0.03% to finish at 14,358.02 points.
On the currency front, the dollar was last down 0.08% against sterling at 77.22p, while it slipped 0.19% on the euro to 89.11 euro cents, and by 0.26% against the yen to change hands at JPY 139.28.