Reckitt finance chief departing, Ithaca first-half profits grow

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 14 points higher on Wednesday, having closed up 0.18% on Tuesday at 7,270.76.

Stocks to watch

Reckitt Benckiser announced the departure of chief financial officer and executive director Jeff Carr, who plans to retire at the end of March next year. Nike’s Shannon Eisenhardt will join the consumer goods group on 17 October as CFO designate to succeed Carr. Eisenhardt currently serves as CFO of consumer, brand and marketplace at Nike.

Ithaca Energy reported a strong rise in first-half profits as higher production and falling costs offset lower oil and gas prices. Adjusted core earnings rose 8% to $979.7m. The company said its annual operating cost guidance had narrowed to $560-$610m from $560-$630m supported by stringent focus on ongoing cost control.

GSK's Shingrix vaccine has demonstrated 100% efficacy in preventing shingles in adults aged 50 and over in China. This result was from the first efficacy trial of Shingrix in the country, with no cases of shingles reported among participants. The trial's safety and efficacy data aligned with GSK's earlier phase III trials, ZOE-50 and ZOE-701.

Newspaper round-up

More than 1,000 partners at the UK division of the “big four” accounting firm PwC will be paid £906,000 this year, a slight fall on last year’s record payout as profits fell despite rising revenues. Unaudited accounts released by the company showed that PwC’s UK profit fell from £1.5bn to £1.3bn in 2022, although last year’s figure was boosted by a £139m gain from the sale of its global mobility business. – Guardian

PwC has been a significant beneficiary of Saudi Arabia’s global spending spree as the Gulf state looks to grow its economy beyond oil and gas. Strong demand for its advice from Middle Eastern clients helped drive a 30pc jump in the “Big Four” company’s consulting revenues last year, new accounts show. – Telegraph

High interest rates are putting indebted businesses under the most pressure since 2009, the Bank of England has warned. Half of all businesses with borrowings will be struggling to meet debt payments by the end of this year, the Bank said, up from 45pc last year. – Telegraph

Falling house prices and record wage growth has meant houses have become more affordable on paper, but the rising cost of borrowing has cancelled out any benefit. The cost of a typical UK home is 6.7 times average earnings, down from a peak of 7.3 last summer, according to analysis from the country's biggest mortgage lender, Halifax. – Sky News

The UK's largest carmaker has announced plans to use old car batteries to store energy the national grid can't use and return it to the network at peak times. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is turning its used car batteries into what it says will be one of the largest energy storage systems in the UK. – Sky News

US close

Wall Street stocks showed a varied performance on Tuesday, with major indices ending the day on a split note as investors awaited an impending speech from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell later in the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.51% lower at 34,288.83, while the S&P 500 also reported a slight decline, down by 0.28% to end the day at 4,387.55.

However, the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite bucked the trend, ending Tuesday's trading session 0.06% firmer to close at 13,505.87.

In the currency space, the dollar was last up 0.01% on sterling at 78.55p, while it was unchanged against the common currency to trade at 92.2 euro cents.

The greenback saw a negligible dip of 0.02% against the yen, changing hands at JPY 145.86.