Source: Sharecast
STOCKS TO WATCH
IT services provider Kainos said on Tuesday that it had made a strong start to the new financial year and lifted guidance for FY27, with the board now expecting revenues and adjusted pre‑tax profit to come in comfortably ahead of current market forecasts. Kainos' update comes after it delivered double‑digit revenue growth, a very strong sales performance and record backlog levels in the year ended 31 March, with management stating momentum had continued through the opening months of FY27. Digital services remained a key driver, supported by several major contract wins in the second half of FY26 and further awards since the new year began. Both Workday Services and Workday Products also continued to trade well, each posting double‑digit revenue growth compared with the same period last year.
HgCapital Trust said it was investing around £20m in Nourish, a provider of software for the UK social and community care sector. HgCapital said its investment will help Nourish continue investing in its product and developing new solutions "that improve the customer experience, make carers' lives easier, and keep human relationships at the heart of high-quality care".
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
Government borrowing costs in several advanced economies hit their highest level since the 2008 financial crisis, or even earlier, on Monday as investors feared the Middle East crisis would keep inflation persistently high. Concerns over rising prices and government spending pushed up the cost of debt issued by Paris, Berlin, Washington DC, Tokyo and London as investors fretted that rising prices would push up interest rates. The yield, or interest rate, on 30-year French bonds rose to its highest level since September 2008 at 4.8558%, up one basis point (0.01 percentage point), LSEG data showed. – Guardian
Forty prominent progressive academics are urging Andy Burnham's government to join a new global push to tackle inequality. The experts include Nobel winner Joseph Stiglitz, University College London professor Mariana Mazzucato, vice-chancellor of the London School of Economics Larry Kramer, and Kate Pickett, co-author of The Spirit Level. In an open letter, they call on Burnham to sign the UK up to help create a new International Panel on Inequality (IPI), which is being developed at the UN. – Guardian
A US tech crash is likely and it could trigger a financial crisis in Europe, central bankers have warned. Analysts at the European Central Bank (ECB) said the AI boom that had driven Wall Street valuations to nosebleed levels has left the eurozone exposed. European households have €440bn (£380bn) invested in US tech stocks, mainly held in investment funds tracking stock market indexes. It means that a plunge in equity markets could prove very painful on the Continent. – Telegraph
Labour has handed consultants a £450m contract to deliver AI training to the Civil Service despite pledging to cut spending on external advisers. Advisers at KPMG and EY are expected to receive close to £500m as part of a deal with the Cabinet Office, according to figures from Tussell, a procurement data provider. The £456m contract marks the single biggest deal awarded by officials to the big four consulting firms since Tussell began collating figures in 2012. KPMG will receive up to £319m under the contract, while EY will be paid up to £137m. – Telegraph
US CLOSE
Wall Street stocks headed south on Monday despite gains in the AI and chip sectors, as oil prices and bond yields rose on the back of ongoing geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.51% at 53,459.78, while the S&P 500 shed 0.52% to 7,745.06 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.32% softer at 26,644.91.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com