Morrisons sales jump over key holiday period, DCC acquires US firm UPG
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open 24 points lower on Tuesday, having closed up 1.72% on Monday at 6,571.88.
Stocks to watch
Supermarket chain Morrisons on Tuesday reported a 9.3% rise in like-for-like sales over the key Christmas and New Year three-week period to January 3. For the 22 weeks to January 3, group LFL sales excluding fuel were up 8.1%, comprising contributions from retail of 7.2% and wholesale of 0.9%. Group LFL including fuel was up 1.9%, with fuel LFL down 23.1% again temporarily impacted by new Covid lockdowns and tier restrictions.
DCC announced on Tuesday that it has expanded its presence in the United States LPG market with the acquisition of United Propane Gas (UPG). The FTSE 100 company said that, together with a recent smaller bolt-on acquisition completed in Colorado, the combined enterprise value of the transactions was $145m, paid in cash on completion from its resources. It said UPG markets, sells and delivers LPG and related products and services to residential, agricultural and commercial customers in 13 midwest and southern states, with a “particularly strong” presence in Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama.
Newspaper round-up
A leading think tank has called for action to make Britain a fairer country after its research showed that the Covid-19 pandemic had led to greater inequality. The Institute for Fiscal Studies said the most vulnerable – those on lower incomes, the young, the least-educated and people from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds – had been hit hardest by the crisis. - Guardian
Aldi UK has reported a record Christmas performance, with sales rising 10.6% year-on-year in the four weeks to 24 December boosted by demand for premium products and champagne. All UK supermarket groups benefited in the run-up to Christmas from unprecedented demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic, driven by a large part of the population working from home and restrictions on cafe, pub and restaurant openings. - Guardian
Best Western is spearheading a plan to turn as many as 500 hotels into "cottage hospitals" that could ease the pressure on the NHS as it reels from surging Covid cases. The reconfigured sites would handle pre-surgery assessments, IV treatments such as for antibiotics or dialysis as well as MRI and CT scans and post-Covid recovery support, according to proposals sent to the Cabinet Office this week. - Telegraph
Thousands of businesses will be forced to sack staff or go bust without fresh financial support to get through a new national coronavirus lockdown, bosses have warned. On Monday evening Boris Johnson announced an imminent lockdown in England until at least the middle of February, implementing by far the strictest measures seen since March. - Telegraph
Two serving postmasters will join the board of the Post Office as it seeks to repair relations with local managers and move on from the IT scandal that led to some being wrongly imprisoned. The state-owned enterprise will appoint two new non-executive directors in the spring, in a move that it hailed as a “progressive” step to ensure that the views of its 8,000 postmasters are “directly reflected” at the top.- The Times
US close
Wall Street stocks closed sharply lower on Monday as major indices recorded their worst performance in more than two months on the first day of trading for 2021.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.25% at 30,223.89, while the S&P 500 was 1.48% weaker at 3,700.65 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.47% softer at 12,698.45.
The Dow closed 382.59 points lower on Monday, reversing gains recorded on the final day of trading for 2020.
Traders were focussed on the US state of Georgia as the final two runoffs which will decide exactly who runs the Senate take place.
Although Democrats appear unlikely to be able to claim both remaining seats, the polls have turned in their favour of late as the president continues to search for a way to overturn November's election result.