Source: Sharecast
STOCKS TO WATCH
C&C Group said CFO Andrew Andrea was leaving to take up the same role at Domino's Pizza. The Bulmers cider maker added that Andrea would stay in post until the current financial year was complete. In a separate trading update, C&C held full-year earnings guidance despite a "challenging" macroeconomic environment. Interim Underlying operating profits were expected to be in the range of €41.5 to €42.0m – also in line with forecasts.
Software and security firm Bytes Technology said on Thursday that it had delivered "a resilient performance" in the six months ended 31 August, with trading "substantially in line" with expectations. Gross invoiced income was expected to be roughly £1.33bn, while gross profits were seen at no less than £82m, and operating profits were pegged to be at least £33m. Bytes also cautioned that although it had "a strong pipeline" going into the second half, it remained mindful that comparatives would be impacted by "the particularly strong trading performance" it experienced in the last few months of the prior financial year.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
Nationwide building society has defended its chair, Kevin Parry, after he became the first boss of a major British lender to publicly engage with Nigel Farage's Reform UK party. It emerged on Wednesday that Parry, who has been chair of the member-owned building society since 2016, attended a breakfast event earlier this week meant to help companies understand Reform's approach to business. – Guardian
Keir Starmer has sought to navigate a politically treacherous state visit by Donald Trump with an announcement of £150bn of US investment in the UK, as the president was kept safely within the confines of Windsor Castle. As thousands of protesters voiced their anger in London at a Stop Trump Coalition protest, the US president was escorted by the king and queen through a first day that ended in a state banquet, but kept him out of reach of his critics. – Guardian
The boss of an Abu Dhabi-backed fund blocked from taking control of The Telegraph has attacked red tape in Britain after abandoning a bid for ITV's production arm. Jeff Zucker, chief executive of RedBird IMI, said his fund was planning to invest in UK companies but had been deterred by overly stringent regulations. – Telegraph
The construction of a British warship is set to largely take place in Spain for the first time in modern history, owing to problems at the Belfast shipyard known for building the Titanic. A Spanish state-owned defence company has said most of the work for the first of three ships it is building for the Royal Navy will take place in Spain rather than Britain amid difficulties at the Belfast yard of Harland & Wolff, the shipbuilder. – The Times
Continued weak demand for its consultants' advice and a bruising clash with its most important client in Saudi Arabia led to growth at PwC's UK arm falling to a 16-year low last year. The Big Four accounting and consulting giant blamed the "challenging macro backdrop" for its slow year, during which it made the "tough decision to reduce roles in some areas". – The Times
US CLOSE
Major indices delivered a mixed performance on Wednesday after an interest-rate cut and comments from the Federal Reserve sparked a volatile end to the session.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.57% at 46,018.32, while the S&P 500 shed 0.10% to 6,600.35 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.33% weaker at 22,261.33.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com