Tesco hikes interim payout by 20.8%, Frasers Group proposes £100m incentive scheme for staff

London open

The FTSE 100 is being called to start the session 12 points lower at 5,937.

Stocks to watch

Grocer Tesco posted a 6.6% rise in group sales for the half to reach £26.7bn, with revenues in the UK and the Republic of Ireland ahead by 8.6%, while in Central Europe and at Tesco Bank they fell by 4.3% and 31.4%, respectively. Group operating profit before exceptionals meanwhile was down by 15.6% to £1.04bn. At period end, net debt excluding lease liabilities was up by £0.2bn to £3.0bn. The dividend payout was raised 20.8% to 3.2p per share or 35% of the prior year dividend, in line with company policy.

The board of Frasers Group has urged shareholders to back a £100m staff incentive scheme at Wednesday’s annual meeting. Frasers, formerly known as Sports Direct, plans to award the cash to staff if the share price hits £10 for a 30 day period. The awards will depend on length of service, with staff having worked four years or more entitled to a maximum four weeks’ worth of salary bonus. Frasers has put forward a separate performance reward plan that will reward the 1,000 highest-ranked employees, known as then “Fearless 1,000”, with the top 10 receiving £1m, with further payouts ranging from £500,000 to £50,000.

In the press

The world's first coronavirus passport is being launched on Wednesday to enable people to travel without having to quarantine. Passengers using two of the world's biggest airlines – United Airlines and Cathay Pacific – and travelling through London Heathrow will be the first to test the technology, which is backed by the US government. The volunteer passengers will upload their coronavirus test results from a validated laboratory onto a digital health passport up to 72 hours before departure. - Daily Telegraph

Surging coronavirus infection rates have put Britain on the brink of tougher lockdown measures, overshadowing Boris Johnson’s attempt yesterday to focus on life after the pandemic. The government’s scientific advisers called for "urgent and drastic action" after cases doubled in 11 days to 14,542 and deaths doubled to 76 in the same period. - The Times

Rishi Sunak will take on new powers to block companies from listing on the London Stock Exchange on national security grounds. The chancellor is understood to be preparing to launch a consultation on the details in the coming weeks in response to demands from MPs. The limitations of the rules were exposed three years ago when the stock exchange listed EN+, an energy company associated with Oleg Deripaska. - The Times

US close

All the major US indices were firmly in the red at the close on Tuesday after Donald Trump called for stimulus talks to be halted until after the elections.

By the end of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.34% at 27,772.76, while the S&P 500 declined 1.40% to 3,360.95 and the Nasdaq Composite saw the session out 1.57% weaker at 11,154.60.

The Dow closed 375.88 points lower on Tuesday, reversing the gains that it had recorded during the prior session when stocks posted their biggest advance in weeks as market participants kept track of talks on Capitol Hill aimed at further government stimulus and the health of the President.