CMC Markets lowers expectations, DWF profits edge higher
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open seven points lower on Friday, having closed up 0.18% on Thursday at 7,333.63.
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Financial trading platform CMC Markets said annual net operating income would be lower than last year as revenues continued to fall in a "challenging" environment. The company on Friday said subdued market conditions had continued through August with trading and investing net revenues trending 20% lower year-on-year.
Legal and business services group DWF, which last month agreed a £342m takeover deal with private equity firm Inflexion, said adjusted profits edged higher in the year to 30 April, but noted a "challenging environment" in the new financial year. Adjusted pre-tax profit rose 4.7% to £43.3m, as revenues increased 8.6% to 451.6m.
Newspaper round-up
The US hedge fund and notorious activist investor Elliott Management paid its 124 UK staff a combined £160m last year, after a 10% rise in annual profits. The pay pot is higher than the £137m shared by employees the previous year, and comes after its UK operation, Elliott Advisors UK, reported pre-tax profits up by a tenth to £10m. Turnover for the firm, which made headlines after throwing its hat into the ring to buy Manchester United earlier this year, rose 16% to £225m. – Guardian
John Lewis is ditching its offer of free food for workers over the Christmas period, as the retail giant embarks on another round of cost-cutting. The retailer has offered seasonal workers free Sunday roasts and cooked breakfasts for the last two years running but confirmed that Christmas staff will not get the perk this year. – Telegraph
Governments spent $800bn (£633bn) more on energy subsidies last year than in 2020 in the wake of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, as nations around the world opened the purse strings to limit the pain of higher bills. Direct subsidies for fossil fuels jumped to $1.3 trillion in 2022, according to the International Monetary Fund, up from $500bn in 2020. – Telegraph
The Specsavers chain has paid out a £15 million dividend to its parent company in Guernsey as the businesses sought to limit price rises for customers amid the cost of living crisis. Accounts for Specsavers Optical Superstores — whose ultimate controlling parties are Dame Mary Perkins and her husband, Doug — show a dividend was granted after no payouts were approved in the prior year. – The Times
The Serious Fraud Office has dropped two long-running, high-profile investigations in the latest blow to the agency’s credibility before the arrival of its new director. A criminal investigation into Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) launched a decade ago and a separate corruption investigation into Rio Tinto, the FTSE 100 mining giant, have ended. – The Times
US close
After a fleeting moment in positive territory, US stocks ended with heavy losses on Thursday, as the optimism surrounding tech giant Nvidia's stellar second quarter quickly faded.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.1% to 34,099, the S&P 500 declined 1.4% to 4,376, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq slumped 1.9% to 13,464.
Even Nvidia, which was up as much as 7% in early deals after it blew forecasts out of the water with its results, finished the session broadly flat, albeit at a record high.
Investors were exercising caution ahead of a key event in the Federal Reserve's calendar, the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, which kicked off in Wyoming today. Markets will be keeping a close eye on reporting from the three-day conference for hints at how central bankers may view monetary policy changing in the coming months.