Source: Sharecast
STOCKS TO WATCH
Sports Direct owner Frasers reported annual adjusted pre-tax profits of £538m Thursday, down 4% on the previous year, despite retail trading profits surging 22% to £912.5m. Frasers declined to provide guidance for the current fiscal year due to its takeover bids for Hugo Boss and Accent Group, but cautioned that it continued to feel the impact of tough trading conditions, subdued consumer confidence and industry-wide excess inventory levels through the second half of 2025/26 and into the start of FY27. "These pressures are weighing on the entire sector, creating a prolonged and challenging environment," the company added.
Data and technology firm Experian posted 8% total revenue growth and 7% organic growth for the first quarter on Thursday, with strong B2B momentum across major markets offsetting softer trends in parts of Consumer Services. Experian said it had delivered broad‑based growth across its regions in the three months ended 30 June, with North America, Latin America and the UK & Ireland all posting solid performances, while EMEA and Asia Pacific remained more subdued.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
Andy Burnham must avoid another "summer of speculation" on tax and spend that would spook British business, the chief executive of the CBI has warned. As Burnham prepares to take up the Labour leadership on Friday, with a new cabinet to be announced on Monday, Rain Newton-Smith urged him to tread carefully. – Guardian
SpaceX shares dropped below their initial public offering price for the first time on Wednesday, just over a month after the rockets-to-AI firm completed the biggest IPO ever and made Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire. The shares slid 1.5% to $134, falling below the $135 IPO price and well below last month's high that briefly propelled the company's market valuation above those of Silicon Valley giants Microsoft and Amazon, firms with longer public track records and stronger financial results. – Guardian
Builders have accused Ed Miliband of forcing them to install solar panels on houses even when they do not receive any sun. Under the Energy Secretary's Future Homes Standard, the Government mandates that solar panels on roofs should cover 40% of the ground-floor area of each new-build house. The rule forms part of a push to ensure new houses emit 75% less carbon than older properties. It will apply to homes built from March 2028 in buildings measuring under 18 metres. – Telegraph
Britain's biggest pub group is facing an investigation into claims that it has been failing to properly repair run-down sites. The Pubs Code Adjudicator, the industry watchdog, has launched an investigation into Stonegate to determine whether it was providing new tenants with accurate information about potential repairs and the financial prospects of pubs. – Telegraph
The owners of Utmost are planning a £2.5bn float of the wealth business as soon as September in a potential fillip for London's moribund listings market. City sources have told The Times that advisers to Utmost, which is controlled by Oaktree Capital Management, the American investment group, are in the advanced stages of preparing for an initial public offering. – The Times
US CLOSE
Major indices closed higher on Wednesday despite rising oil prices amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.29% at 52,658.64, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.38% to 7,572.40, and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.62% firmer at 26,269.23.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com