Source: Sharecast
STOCKS TO WATCH
Bookmaker Entain reiterated its FY26 guidance on Thursday as Q3 trading showed steady underlying momentum, though Brazil remained a clear drag. Entain said group net gaming revenue rose 2% on a constant‑currency basis, with online up 3% and gaming up 8%, partly offset by customer‑friendly sports results that knocked sports 3% lower. Excluding Brazil, online NGR grew 5%, with volumes up 7% and year‑to‑date online growth running at 8%. Entain maintained expectations for 4% to 6% FY26 online NGR growth, excluding Brazil, and underlying earnings at the lower end of the £910m to £960m range.
Travis Perkins reported a 1.6% decline in third-quarter revenue, as UK construction activity remained subdued, particularly in the new-build residential market amid ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty. Like-for-like sales fell 1.3% in the three months ended 30 September. The group's merchanting businesses continued to prioritise higher-margin trade and tightly manage credit risk, helping to support profitability despite weaker volumes. Travis Perskins also noted tougher year-on-year comparisons against deeper promotional activity in Q325 and said it remains focused on passing through input cost inflation where possible.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
Bars, clubs and restaurants will offer up to 100,000 jobs to young people not in employment, education or training over the next three years in an effort to give them a first step on the ladder into work. The move comes before the publication of a report on NEETS by the former health secretary Alan Milburn, who has warned that the number of young people not in work or education in the UK could rise to 1.25m over the next five years unless ministers intervene. – Guardian
UK households have paid almost £14,000 on average in additional costs for mortgages, loans, energy and water bills over the past five years, according to a report urging the chancellor to tackle soaring living costs at the budget. With less than a fortnight before John Healey's first budget as chancellor, the Trades Union Congress said the cost of living crisis was weighing on the economy as hard-pressed households held back on spending. – Guardian
Netflix is to cut up to 1,000 jobs worldwide in the streaming giant's biggest ever round of cost-cutting. The US company is preparing to axe around 6% of its global workforce as it grapples with slowing growth in the crowded streaming market. The cuts will be focused on Netflix's product, technology, legal and human resources teams. It is unclear how many job losses will fall in the UK, where the company employs more than 600 people. – Telegraph
Business leaders have made a plea to the chancellor to partially reverse Rachel Reeves's £25bn payroll tax rise, saying it could generate more than 40,000 jobs for young people amid historically high youth unemployment. In a submission to the government ahead of this month's budget, the CBI, Britain's biggest business lobby group, said John Healey should raise the earnings threshold that triggers national insurance contributions as part of a near-£4bn tax cut for the private sector. – The Times
Staff at the UK arm of OpenAI collected around £2.3m per employee on average last year, accounts show. The London-based subsidiary of the AI giant behind ChatGPT said total staff costs, comprising salaries, pension costs, share-based compensation and other benefits, reached £258m in 2025, up from £60.7m in 2024. This includes £87.3m in wages and salaries and £168m in share-based compensation. – The Times
US CLOSE
Major indices closed lower on Wednesday as traders digested September's consumer price report and another batch of bank earnings.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.09% at 51,621.48, while the S&P 500 shed 1.11% to 7,718.94 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.88% weaker at 26,692.87.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com