Source: Sharecast
STOCKS TO WATCH
Iconic British shoe maker Dr Martens reiterated its FY guidance on Thursday and said it had continued to see positive trading in its Americas direct-to-consumer operations, driven by full price sales, although it cautioned that its UK business had continued to experience a challenging trading backdrop. Dr Martens said autumn/winter order books globally were healthy, with EMEA up year-on-year, while the Americas were broadly in line year-on-year. It also added that its earnings performance would be H2-weighted.
Housebuilder Vistry said on Thursday that H1 profits were in line with expectations at roughly £125.0m, underpinning the group's confidence in its FY outlook. Vistry also said it remains on track to deliver a year-on-year increase in profits in FY25, supported by a forward order book of £4.3bn and a "strong" pipeline of development opportunities.
Recruiter Pagegroup reported a steeper rate of profit decline in the second quarter, with particular weakness in the EMEA and UK divisions. For the full year, the board said it still expects to hit market forecasts for operating profit, though subdued levels of client and candidate confidence are continuing to impact decision making.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
Thames Water paid almost £2.5m to senior managers from an emergency loan that was meant to be used to keep the failing utilities company afloat – and has refused to claw back the payments, newly released documents reveal. The struggling water supplier paid bonuses totalling £2.46m to 21 managers on 30 April. – Guardian
As much as £5.0bn is needed to revive ailing UK town and city centres, with areas including Bradford in Yorkshire, Newport in South Wales, and Blackpool in Lancashire having double the proportion of empty shops as London, a study has found. A report from the Centre for Cities thinktank showed that the health of high streets across the country has varied significantly, and called for authorities to focus on developing homes and high-paying jobs in central locations to increase local spending power. – Guardian
The boss of X has announced she is stepping down just days after owner Elon Musk announced plans to launch a new political party. Linda Yaccarino, who joined the social media company in 2023, said she had decided to step down as chief executive after a "historic turnaround" for the company, which was snapped up by Mr Musk in a $44.0bn deal in 2022. – Telegraph
Britain and France have agreed to coordinate their use of nuclear weapons for the first time to defend Europe from "extreme" threats. In a declaration signed during Emmanuel Macron's state visit to the UK, the French president and Sir Keir Starmer pledged to work "more closely than ever before" on nuclear deterrence. – Telegraph
A majority of Federal Reserve officials have warned that President Trump's trade tariffs would have "persistent effects" and few see any reason to cut interest rates at the central bank's next meeting later this month. Only "a couple" of officials at the federal open market committee's mid-June meeting said they felt the cost of borrowing could be reduced as soon as this month, while most remained worried about the inflationary pressure they expect to come from Trump's use of import taxes. – The Times
US CLOSE
US stocks finished firmly higher on Wednesday, bouncing back after two days of losses despite ongoing tariff-related uncertainty as minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting opened the door to another rate cut this year.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.49% at 44,458.30, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.61% to 6,263.26 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.94% firmer at 20,611.34.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com