Source: Sharecast
STOCKS TO WATCH
UK retailer Marks & Spencer posted a sharp fall in annual earnings, reflecting the impact of last year’s cyber attack, but said profits had recovered in the second half. Adjusted profit before tax for the 12 months to March 28 fell 23.8% to £671.4m with the second half recording a 4.1% rise. “The outlook for the current year includes higher fuel, freight and input costs and continued government tax levies and regulatory headwinds for the sector. These are being mitigated through improved buying, reinvestment in value to drive volume, and savings from the structural cost reduction programme,” M&S said on Wednesday.
Final results from British Land revealed a record year of leasing for the real estate investment trust, helping underlying profits rise 5% to £294m. The firm said it benefited from its positions in campuses and retail parks, where demand is growing, and supply remains constrained. "While the geopolitical and interest rate backdrop has become more uncertain, the occupational fundamentals underpinning our portfolio are as strong as I have seen them," said chief executive Simon Carter.
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The cost of the government’s £38bn nuclear plant in Suffolk is subject to “significant uncertainty” and may outweigh the benefits for UK households until at least 2064, according to the government’s spending watchdog. The National Audit Office (NAO) has warned that although the potential benefits of the Sizewell C nuclear plant are considerable, they remain uncertain. The risks, however, are “immediate, substantial and borne by the public”. – Guardian
Stamp duty should be scrapped and replaced with a new property wealth tax to fix London’s housing crisis, a leading thinktank has proposed. A report on the capital’s property market suggests an annual tax to replace the levy paid when buying a property and council tax would encourage downsizing and raise funds for social housing. It would also help renters to save a house deposit. – Guardian
The boss of Shell has urged Labour to ramp up drilling in the North Sea, claiming it would deliver a much-needed boost to Britain’s struggling economy. Wael Sawan called for Ed Miliband to approve two key North Sea oil and gas fields, arguing such schemes would “create jobs that create taxes to pay for the many things that [a country] requires”. – Telegraph
Rachel Reeves is pressuring supermarkets to cap food prices in an attempt to limit inflation unleashed by the Iran war. The Chancellor has asked grocers to cap how much they charge shoppers for staple items such as bread, eggs and milk, in return for relaxing red tape. The proposal has angered many across the retail sector, who described it as a “desperate” attempt to tackle the cost of living crisis and marked a return to the “failed policies of the 1970s”. – Telegraph
London’s biggest housebuilder has claimed that developers “can no longer invest” in the capital after an application to build almost 900 homes in southeast London was rejected for a second time. The warning came after Southwark council’s planning committee said Berkeley Group’s bid to replace the Aylesham Centre in Peckham with hundreds of new homes had been dismissed by the planning inspector. – The Times
The London arm of Deutsche Bank has been fined £165,000 by a UK Treasury watchdog for processing payments to a Russian streaming platform. Deutsche Bank London Branch (DBLB) processed two payments to Okko on behalf of an unnamed customer. Okko is one of Russia’s largest on-demand video streaming platforms. – The Times
US CLOSE
A sell-off in the bond market saw US stocks fall again on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq continuing to pull back from last week's record highs as investors exercise caution ahead of Nvidia's all-important earnings.
First-quarter results from semiconductor titan Nvidia will be released after markets close on Wednesday, with expectations sky high for the company to impress, given it is partly responsible much of Wall Street's recent gains over the past year – with a market cap of $5.39trn at the close.
The Dow and S&P 500 both finished 0.7% lower, while the Nasdaq lost 0.8%.