Wednesday Update
DB Live: Sterling rises on EU talks; ASOS up, but cautious
REFRESH PAGE FOR UPDATES
4.30pm: FTSE lower
Traders were encouraged by hints of some progress in the Brexit talks. Sterling climbed nearly 1%, forcing the FTSE 100 lower to close at 5,935.06, down 34.65 (0.58%)
12.20pm: Avoid Blackpool, says FM
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon urges Scots, including Old Firm fans, not to travel to traditional autumn destinations such as Blackpool this weekend.
Noon: Market dips on EU talks
After rising just above the 6,000 threshold in early trade, the FTSE 100 was marginally back in negative territory at 5,958.73, down 10.98 points (0.18%) amid scepticism over the Brexit talks.
Brussels representatives are expected to say progress is “still not sufficient” to reach an agreement, according to Reuters.
11.30am: Battery power merger
Two Scottish firms have announced a merger to help advance local battery-powered generation in such places as retail parks and company garages.
11am: Northern Ireland circuit break
Northern Ireland will close its pubs for a month from Friday and shut schools for a fortnight from next week under a circuit-breaker lockdown, First Minister Arlene Foster announced today.
9.30am: Three for Tech Nation
Tech Nation, the growth platform for tech companies and leaders, announced that three Scottish companies will be among the 32 companies selected to join the Applied AI Growth programme.
7.30am: Tesco acquires Ageas stake
Tesco Bank has acquired Ageas’s stake in Tesco Underwriting, confirming its interest reported by Daily Business last November.
The investment will enable Tesco Bank to create an end-to-end insurance business to help Tesco shoppers manage their money.
7am: ASOS sees leap in profit
Online fashion retailer ASOS said it had made a “solid” start to the new financial year but was “retaining caution” on the outlook for consumer demand whilst economic prospects and lifestyles of 20-somethings remain disrupted.
It reported a fourfold rise in full-year profit for the year to 31 August as it proved a beneficiary of the COVID-19 restrictions.
Pretax profit came in at £142.1 million on a 19% rise in sales to £3.26 billion.
Nick Beighton, CEO, said: “Whilst life for our 20-something customers is unlikely to return to normal for quite some time, ASOS will continue to engage, respond and adapt.”
Barratt sees strong demand
House builder Barratt said it is seeing continuing strong customer demand across the country.
In a trading update for the period 1 July to 11 October it said total forward sales (including JVs) as at 11 October were 15,135 homes (13 October 2019: 12,963 homes) at a value of £3,647.6m (13 October 2019: £3,070.2m).
Devro unveils CFO
Rohan Cummings will join the board of Scotland-based meat casings company Devro as executive Director and chief financial officer on 1 December.
Markets
Spread betters expect the FTSE 100 index to open between 15 to 23 points higher after closing down 31.67 points, or 0.5%, at 5,969.71 on Tuesday.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index is up 0.1% while in China, the Shanghai Composite is down 0.7%. The Hang Seng index Hong Kong was trading 0.3% lower after trading resumed following a typhoon on Tuesday.
Wall Street’s three key indexes ended the session lower on frustration over stimulus delays. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.6%, S&P 500 0.6% and Nasdaq Composite 0.1%.
Today’s agenda
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will hold talks with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.
EIE20, the investor pitching event, takes place virtually
Apple launches the iPhone 12
Today’s top Daily Business headlines
Starmer and Tory MP attack PM’s Covid plan
Eighth year of growth at Gillespie Macandrew
