Berkeley maintains full-year guidance, Centrica buys customers of Robin Hood Energy

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 41 points lower on Friday, having closed down 1.52% at 5,850.86 on Thursday.

Stocks to watch

House builder Berkeley maintained full year guidance as it reported better-than-expected production levels due to pent-up demand after the easing of coronavirus lockdown measures. The company on Friday said it anticipated a more even split of profit between the first and second halves of the year and held its existing £500m pre-tax profit forecast and commitment to return £280m a year to shareholders. However, Berkeley also sounded a note of caution over current volatility and risks from the longer term economic impact of Covid-19, including once current government support tapers and the possibility of a severe second wave of the virus.

Centrica's British Gas business has bought the customers of Robin Hood Energy, a loss-making supplier set up by Nottingham City Council to compete with big energy providers. British Gas will take on 112,000 residential customers and 2,600 business customers from Robin Hood for an undisclosed sum.

Newspaper round-up

At least 100m subsidised meals were eaten by diners in the UK in August following a last-minute rush by the public to take advantage of the government’s month-long “eat out to help out” scheme, the Treasury stated. The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, praised the public for helping to save jobs in the vulnerable hospitality industry as it emerged that the meal discount scheme had exceeded expectations and would cost more than the £500m he set aside in the July mini budget. - Guardian

Retailers have told Boris Johnson that his government must do more to persuade the public that it is safe to travel to work and shop or risk needless job losses and store closures, as data showed city centres suffering from a lack of office workers. The British Retail Consortium said its monthly survey of footfall showed that empty office blocks were leaving city centres bare of potential customers even though lockdown restrictions had been gradually eased. – Guardian

Company bosses have turned optimistic about the future prospects of their businesses for the first time since the pandemic began, as the economic recovery takes hold and more workers return to the office, albeit slower than the Government had hoped. – Telegraph

A former boss of Aviva is behind a £370 million bid for Saga that has been spurned by the insurance-to-cruises company, The Times has learnt. It is understood that Mark Wilson, who was in charge of the FTSE 100 insurer for almost six years until 2018, has tried to orchestrate a takeover of the troubled over-50s group. – The Times

Employers’ groups and MPs have criticised the government for confusion over how small businesses can apply for the £2 billion Kickstart jobs scheme. The scheme, which provides subsidised work placements for young people, was launched on Wednesday, but small companies face uncertainty over how to access it. – The Times

US close

Wall Street indices tumbled on Thursday as tech stocks snapped a ten-day winning streak.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 2.78% at 28,292.73, while the S&P 500 was 3.51% softer at 3,455.06 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 4.96% weaker at 11,458.10.

The Dow Jones closed 807.77 points lower on Thursday, more than reversing gains recorded in the previous session.

As far as Thursday was concerned, the day's main focus was the weekly jobless claims report from the Department of Labor.

New filings for jobless claims came to 881,000 in the week ended 29 August, ahead of estimates for a reading of 950,000 as the employment market seemingly continued its gradual recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. Continuing claims fell sharply, dropping by 1.24m to 13.25m.

Also in focus, America's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has told state governments to make preparations for the large-scale distribution of a Covid-19 vaccine.