Halma makes 'good progress' in H2, Ultra Electronics FY profits rise

London pre-open

The FTSE 100 was being called to open 33.4 points higher ahead of the bell on Wednesday after closing out the previous session 0.46% firmer at 7,476.72.

Stocks to watch

Safety equipment company Halma said on Wednesday that it had made "good progress" so far in the second half of its trading year, with the group continuing to benefit from its "diverse portfolio" and "resilient", long-term growth drivers.

Halma stated its strategic qualities, as well the essential nature of many of its products and services, had underpinned "increasing demand" across the group and said it now expects to deliver a "sequential improvement" in revenue during the second half and "substantial revenue growth" in the year as a whole, while full-year adjusted pre-tax profits were seen in line with market consensus estimates.

UK defence company Ultra Electronics reported a rise in annual profits on Wednesday as it awaits a UK government decision on whether US buyout specialist Advent can take over the firm.

Ultra reported a 1.8% increase in underlying pre-tax profit to £116.6m, while its order book rose 22.2% to £1.3bn amid ongoing negotiations between Advent International and UK ministers over a series of pledges as the American outfit tries to get its £2.6bn deal for the firm approved.

Newspaper round-up

Rishi Sunak will promise "security" to cash-strapped families as he announces a fresh package of measures to tackle the cost of living crisis on Wednesday, but will continue to underline the importance of fixing the public finances. The chancellor has been under intense pressure to take action to help households with the rocketing cost of fuel and other essentials. The financial expert Martin Lewis told MPs on Tuesday that many households are facing a "fiscal punch in the face" when the energy price cap rises next month. - Guardian

US authorities appear closer to adding Roman Abramovich to their list of sanctioned hyper-rich Russians, after reports surfaced of a complex transaction of funds through a US hedge fund that was linked to the UK- and European-sanctioned owner of Chelsea Football Club. Abramovich, reputedly the one-time steward on Boris Yeltsin's plane, and tapped by the then up-and-coming Vladimir Putin to manage Russian state-owned energy assets, was reported by the New York Times on Monday to be behind a $20.0m transfer from a shell company registered in the British Virgin Islands to an investment vehicle in the Cayman Islands controlled by a US hedge fund. - Guardian

P&O Ferries has insisted it did not break the law by sacking nearly 800 seafarers without prior consultation. In a letter to Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, P&O's chief executive denied claims that it ordered taser-trained security guards to remove workers from their posts. - Telegraph

The housebuilding industry has written to Michael Gove after the housing secretary described leading developers as a "cartel" and criticised their approach to protecting the environment. Speaking to the Conservative Environment Network recently, Gove said he is "not particularly popular with developers" at the moment given that he is pushing them to spend billions fixing the nation's dangerous cladding. - The Times

A top official at the Bank of England has cautioned that the "jury is still out" on the number of City of London banking jobs that may ultimately be lost to the European Union following Brexit. Sam Woods, a deputy governor who leads the Bank's Prudential Regulation Authority arm, told the House of Lords European affairs committee yesterday that the movement of bankers to the Continent had been "manageable" but had not been a "non-event". - The Times

US close

Wall Street closed higher on Tuesday as market participants digested comments from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell regarding rate hikes.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.74% at 34,807.46, while the S&P 500 was 1.13% firmer at 4,511.61 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.95% stronger at 14,108.82.