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4.30pm: IMF welcomes tax u-turn – London closes higher

Jeremy Hunt’s tax reversals will help tackle the UK’s soaring inflation, said the International Monetary Fund in a statement.

It said the Chancellor’s changes will help “better align fiscal and monetary policy in the fight against inflation”.

The statement is a marked change from the criticism it levelled at Kwasi Kwarteng’s ta-cutting budget on 23 September.

The FTSE 100 closed 16.5 points higher at 6,936.74.

7am: lthaca Energy to float

Oil and gas explorer Ithaca Energy, focused on the UK North Sea, is considering an initial public offering (IPO) on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.

It has interests in six of the top ten assets by reserves on the UK Continental Shelf, more than any other player, including significant interests in the two largest undeveloped discoveries in the UKCS, the Cambo and Rosebank fields.

… more follows

7am: Bellway expects volume fall

Housebuilder Bellway said it had entered the new financial year with a strong forward order book, but given the backdrop of rising interest rates and wider economic uncertainty, the board currently expects to deliver volume at a similar level to the prior year.

Underlying profit before taxation for the year to 31 July was 22.5% higher at £650.4m (2021 – £530.8m, 2020 – £309.3m).

Turnover rose by 13.3% to a record £3.5bn (2021 – £3.1bn, 2020 – £2.2bn).

Housing completions grew by 10.5%, and ahead of target, and the proposed total dividend is up 19.1% to 140p (2021 – 117.5p, 2020 – 50.0p).

7am: Jet2 plane order

Jet2 has ordered 35 Airbus A320 neo aircraft with the option to extend to 71 to meet expected growth of its Leisure Travel business and to refresh its existing aircraft fleet.

The order has an initial value of $3.9 billion, rising to $8bn, though the company has negotiated significant discounts from the base price.

This order, which is in addition to the A321 neo aircraft orders announced in 2021, means Jet2 now has a total of 98 firm ordered aircraft, which could eventually extend to up to 146 aircraft.

The company will retain flexibility in determining the most favourable method of financing the aircraft, which will be through a combination of internal resources and debt.

7am: Moneysupermarket.com

Price comparison platform Moneysupermarket.com has seen buoyant revenue after the return of holidays and business travel.

In a quarterly update it said recent performance had exceeded expectations and its full-year EBITDA would sit “towards the upper end of market expectations”.

The company posted revenue up by a third to £101.9m for the three months to 30 September.

Global markets

The pound edged back below $1.14 mark, trading at 1.138 early Tuesday UK time, down from $1.1409 late Monday following the mini-budget u-turn.

China’s statistics agency delayed the release of gross domestic product data on Tuesday, coinciding with the Chinese Communist Party congress where President Xi Jinping is expected to be handed a third term as party boss.

The Shanghai Composite was down 0.1% in China, though the Hang Seng in Hong Kong was 1.2% higher. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was 1.5% higher in late trade.

In New York overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 1.9%, the S&P 500 added 2.7% while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 3.4%.