Source: Sharecast
STOCKS TO WATCH
Budget airline EasyJet said on Thursday that pre-tax profits had grown to £286,0m in the three months ended 30 June, up £50.0m year-on-year, but warned that profits would be impacted by recent French industrial action. EasyJet said Q3 profit growth was driven by "strong demand" for its primary airport network and benefited from the timing of Easter. Airline passenger numbers increased 2% to 25.9m, while load factor improved by 0.2ppts to 90.2%.
Ocado Group has guided to a slight softening of revenue growth over the second half following a strong first half, in which both its tech and logistics divisions delivered double-digit top-line increases. Revenues in the six months to 1 June were up 13.2% at £674.0m, with technology solutions revenues up 14.9% and logistics revenues growing 12.1%, while adjusted underlying earnings surged to £91.8m from £52.0m the year before. For the full year, the company said it was targeting 10% revenue growth within its tech arm and a high mid-single digit percentage increase within its logistics unit.
Multinational energy company SSE said on Thursday that a final investment decision has been taken to build its Platin power station in County Meath. SSE said the €300.0m, 170MW plant was designed to run on hydrotreated vegetable oil, with the potential to convert to hydrogen. The FTSE 100-listed firm also said consent was being sought to run the station on natural gas to fully utilise the plant's capability to meet Ireland's energy needs. Completion was expected in 2028.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
Advertising agency WPP has been asked to work up ideas for a government-endorsed advertising blitz to urge more consumers to invest in stocks through a "Tell Sid"-style campaign expected to cost tens of millions of pounds. Plans for the nationwide push were announced by chancellor Rachel Reeves on Tuesday at her Mansion House speech, as she unveiled a fresh deregulation drive meant to increase financial risk-taking across the UK to help spur growth. – Guardian
Donald Trump has privately indicated he is on the verge of firing the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, rattling Wall Street and renewing questions over the US central bank's independence. The US president insisted on Wednesday that it was "highly unlikely" he would dismiss the Fed chair, after reports he had suggested he would and shown a draft letter dismissing Powell to political allies. – Guardian
A British-made drone has shot down targets using precision missiles for the first time, in a breakthrough that could help troops repel attacks by unmanned aircraft. The heavy-lift quadcopter was equipped with laser-guided rockets that were successfully fired at flying winged drones during trials this summer over a desert in Utah. – Telegraph
A girlfriend chatbot launched by Elon Musk's tech group is available to 12-year-olds despite being programmed to engage in sexual conversation. The bot named Ani, launched by Mr Musk's artificial intelligence group xAI, is a cartoon girlfriend programmed to act as a 22-year-old and "go full literotica" in conversations with users. – Telegraph
The boss of the City regulator has insisted officials are not trying to "cover their backs" by calling on ministers to set out their risk appetite as part of the government's drive to cut red tape. Nikhil Rathi, who runs the Financial Conduct Authority, told peers scrutinising the watchdog's work on Wednesday that he hoped for an "open discussion around risk" and that "every part of the system needs to be ideally as coherent as possible" if efforts to reform regulation to bolster the economy are to succeed. – The Times
US CLOSE
Major indices closed higher on Wednesday as traders digested more bank earnings and another key inflation report.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.53% at 44,254.78, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.32% to 6,263.70 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.25% firmer at 20,730.49.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com