Yahoo Finance FTSE 100 Live 26 March: Index closes at 12-month high and close to 8000, Trump-backed app's shares surge in US
The FTSE 100 index edged slightly higher today, after an initial dip, and is once again close to 12-month highs and not too far off of record levels.
William Hill and Paddy Power are in focus after two of London’s listed gambling stocks posted results today.
Alongside the figures by Flutter Entertainment and 888 Holdings, investors have also heard from ASOS, Fevertree Drinks, Smiths Group and Ocado.
FTSE 100 Live Tuesday
Flutter dented by writedown
Revolution Bars in restructuring
Bellway posts big profits drop
FTSE narrowly hits 12-month high close
16:41 , Daniel O'Boyle
The FTSE 100 closed at today, setting a new 12-month high by 0.04 points.
Top risers included Kingfisher, M&S and JD Sports in a sign of renewed faith in the high street.
Auto Trader was the biggest faller.
Truth Social share surge adds billions to Trump net worth
16:08 , Daniel O'Boyle
Shares in Donald Trump-founded social media platform Truth Social have surged today after the firm merged with a shell company owned b a prominent Republican backer.
Trump Media and Technology Group, founded by investor and Republican donor Jeff Yass as Digital World Acquisition Corp, started trading under its new name today.
The ex-US president owns almost 60% of the firm.
Shares rocketed by more than 30% today, bringing the value of Trump’s stake well into the billions.
Trump’s stake is subject to a six-month lock-up.
Yass is also an investor in Chinese social media platform Tik Tok. Trump had an apparent change of heart about Tik Tok earlier this month, announcing that he no longer wants the US to ban the app.
Mortgage shock as two major lenders raise interest rates on some products while cutting rates on others
15:47 , Daniel O'Boyle
Mortgage brokers were baffled today by a series of price moves in both directions, including two of the UK’s ‘big six’ lenders raising some rates at the same time they lowered others.
Coventry Building Society cut the interest rates on a number of fixed-rate products, while Accord increased its own rates. That may be a sign that lenders may have differing views of the future outlook for the Bank of England’s own interest rates.
But the most interesting moves may have come from two major high street lenders in HSBC and Barclays.
Ferguson Marine shipyard boss sacked amid further delays to overdue ferry
15:21 , Daniel O'Boyle
The chief executive of Ferguson Marine, where the two delayed and over-budget CalMac ferries are being built, has been sacked after telling ministers further delays are “likely”.
David Tydeman’s contract was terminated by the state-owned company’s board.
The Scottish Government has said any more delays are “unacceptable”.
US stocks higher again
15:16 , Daniel O'Boyle
Take a look at our latest US market snapshot:
City Voices: Labour should target national wealth, not debt
15:08 , Daniel O'Boyle
Politicians generally agree with economists in saying that investment is a Good Thing. After all, it’s seen as the font of economic growth and prosperity.
And yet so often the public investment that politicians control falls victim to more immediate priorities. But this is not just about being short-sighted. At the heart of the problem are the politicians’ fiscal rules, which focus on debt rather than what really matters, the nation’s wealth. Indeed, the obsession with debt has blinded them to the obvious truth that we need assets if we are to grow the economy and cover our debts.
'Cocoa is the new luxury good'
14:27 , Daniel O'Boyle
As cocoa remains near $10,000, Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, says: “Chocolate is the new luxury good in town, and we expect that sweet treats will see their prices surge in response to this massive price rise. This has also pummeled chocolate makers around the world. The Hershey company in the US is down more than 1.2% on Tuesday, the owner of Cadbury’s, Mondelez International, has seen its share price fall 1.7%.
City Comment: Nationwide's takeover of Virgin Money could be a disaster for the building society
13:34 , Simon English
In September 2008 Lloyds Bank bought HBOS, the mess that was left from what was once Halifax Building Society.
I asked a City analyst what he thought. He replied: You know what you get when you merge ice-cream with horse-manure? Horse-manure.
That’s how I feel about Nationwide Building Society’s near £3 billion takeover of Virgin Money, a business with a brand that will disappear and otherwise a load of problems, some of which we know about, and some of which shall emerge in time.
Soft drinks firms AG Barr and Fever-Tree see shares fizz as sales improve
13:32 , Daniel O'Boyle
Soft drinks firms AG Barr and Fever-Tree have revealed robust sales and pointed towards positive performances for 2024 despite pressure on consumers.
Shares in both companies moved higher on Tuesday morning as shareholders welcomed their latest updates.
Irn-Bru and Rubicon maker AG Barr revealed that sales jumped over a quarter during the past year as it was boosted by acquisitions and resilient consumer demand.
Bitcoin bounces back
12:41 , Daniel O'Boyle
The price of Bitcoin has rebounded, after prices fell last week following a ‘flash crash’ on one exchange.
eToro market analyst Simon Peters said: “The bitcoin price whipsawed last week seeing some of the biggest daily moves in this bull market so far.
“The start of the week saw the bitcoin price fall 9% from $67,600 to $61,800 due to leveraged traders being liquidated, as well as a record daily outflow from Grayscale’s GBTC bitcoin spot ETF ($643 million).
“Wednesday then saw the bitcoin price completely reverse the losses and climb back up to the $68,000 level following Fed Chairman Powell’s press conference, where he maintained the Fed’s outlook for three interest rate cuts this year. This was positively received by markets, traditional as well as crypto.
“Bitcoin is currently trading at $71,000 only 4% away from the $73,800 all-time high, which given the negative outflows from the spot ETFs in recent days, is good going.
“Attention is now turning to the bitcoin block reward halving, which is now expected to occur on 20th April, only 25 days away at time of writing.”
Record cocoa prices sour the outlook for chocolate lovers beyond Easter
12:23 , Daniel O'Boyle
This year’s expensive Easter eggs could just be the start of an unwelcome trend for sweet-toothed treat-seekers, after cocoa prices melted records today.
The beloved bean broke through a key level – trading above $10,000 (£7,900) a tonne – on world commodity markets. The price has already doubled in 2024, after poor harvests in West Africa have created a scramble for the available supply of the essential chocolate ingredient. .
After a long history of being underpaid by the industry, farmers in this key region for global supply are locking in higher prices in an under-supplied market. Other cocoa-exporting nations are moving to increase production, but growing more of the crop takes time.
12:22 , Daniel O'Boyle
After a week of outperformance, the FSTE 100 is lagging behind peers today.
Victoria Scholar, Head of Investment at interactive investor says: “European markets have opened mixed with the FTSE 100 underperforming dragged down by miners like Anglo American, Fresnillo and Antofagasta. Meanwhile Ocado has soared to the top of the UK blue chip index, gaining around 5% after a strong update from Ocado Retail.
Germany’s latest GfK consumer confidence reading increased to -27.4, the highest reading of 2024, slightly ahead of expectations, and up from the previous reading of -28.8. US consumer confidence figures are due to be published later today.
“US futures are pointing to a higher open after the rally took a pause for breath on Monday with the major indices on Wall Street closing in the red.”
CAB Payments shares fall 8%
12:08 , Daniel O'Boyle
Shares of CAB Payments have lost another 8%, as the fintech continues to cement its status as one of the worst-performing IPOs in recent memory.
Shares tumbled as the firm annnounced its latest results, as profits fell by 14%, leaving them down by more than two-thirds from their IPO price.
They’re still well above the lows hit in late October, however.
Shoppers turn back to Ocado as food inflation falls again
12:03 , Daniel O'Boyle
Food inflation has fallen to its lowest level in more than two years as supermarkets slash prices to lure back shoppers after the trauma of the prolonged cost of living crisis.
Food and drink prices rose just 4.5% in the four weeks to March 17, a rate of increase not seen since February 2022, according to latest data from analysts Kantar.
Food inflation peaked at 17% in March last year. There is also growing evidence that shoppers are trading up again to more expensive items as they tour the supermarket aisles or spend online.
Wood Group targets nearly £50m yearly savings in efficiency drive
11:54 , Daniel O'Boyle
Wood Group has revealed plans to shave about 60 million US dollars (£47.4 million) off its yearly costs as part of an efficiency drive to boost profitability.
The Aberdeen-headquartered oil and gas engineering business said the “simplification programme” has allowed it to lift its profit outlook for the year.
The plans will involve reducing the number of roles in its central functions, which it said will put greater accountability on individual business units.
Market snapshot: FTSE 100 steady
11:32 , Daniel O'Boyle
Take a look at our latest market snapshot as the FTSE 100 remains close to 12-month highs.
Cocoa hits $10,000
10:33 , Daniel O'Boyle
The price of cocoa has hit $10,000 a ton, after a more than 150% surge in less than three months.
The price of May cocoa futures rose as high as $10,025, before dipping back below the $10,000 barrier.
The recent surge will likely mean to a big increase in chocolate prices, especially for cocoa-heavy dark chocolate.
ASOS shares rally on turnaround progress, Kingfisher tops FTSE 100
10:33 , Graeme Evans
ASOS shares today rallied 8% or 27.4p to 373.6p after the clearance of excess stock contributed to its best cash flow performance since 2017.
Alongside efforts to reduce the inventory built up during the pandemic, an 18% sales decline in the 26 weeks to 3 March met guidance.
Chief executive José Antonio Ramos Calamonte said ASOS was becoming a becoming a “faster and more agile business” as he targets a more profitable, cash generative business from 2025 and beyond.
The rebound for the shares follows their slide from 750p a year ago and 4000p during the pandemic in 2021.
London’s top flight was led by B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher, which put on another 8.7p to 248.3p despite yesterday’s weaker annual results.
Shares in industrial conglomerate Smiths also added 16.6p to 1670.6p after it posted a 5.3% rise in half-year operating profits and named the boss of its detection business as successor to chief executive Paul Keel.
The worst performing blue-chip stocks included Auto Trader, which fell 5% or 36.6p to 705.6p, and Vodafone with a retreat of 0.85p to 67.5p.
In the FTSE 250, results by IT services firm Softcat and drinks maker AG Barr helped their shares improve 5% through gains of 70p to 1556p and 24p to 538p respectively.
The FTSE 100 index is down 7.38 points to 7910.19 while the FTSE 250 index has edged up 20.03 points to 19,633.56.
Cocoa even closer to $10,000 a ton
10:09 , Daniel O'Boyle
The price of cocoa topped $9,950 a ton in early trading before dipping back, as the surge of the key chocolate ingredient continues.
The commodity is currently trading at around $9,918 per ton.
New mix at Fevertree
09:27 , Daniel O'Boyle
Drink maker Fevertree hopes a new sales mix will revive its fortunes, as it revealed today the US has become its largest market, while sales of non-tonic drinks soared.
The business made £117 million from the US in 2023, ahead of the £114.8 million from the UK.
At the same time, non-tonic drinks made up 40% of Fevertree’s revenue, up from 25% a year earlier.
Co-founder and CEO Tim Warrilow said: “2023 was a year when the Fever-Tree brand once again grew in breadth and depth, with market share gains across the globe. Perhaps the most significant milestone was establishing the US as our largest region, and with it, extending our market leadership position in both the US Tonic Water and Ginger Beer categories.”
London-listed betting giants 888 and Flutter scale back plans for world domination
09:04 , Daniel O'Boyle
Two of the biggest London-listed bookies, Paddy Power owner Flutter and William Hill owner 888, each signalled a step away from plans for world domination today, as both made big losses.
888 announced a major change in strategy to focus more on its ‘core markets’ like the UK, Italy and Denmark. It said that it may quit other countries, where it
The new plan comes with a name change, as 888 will become Evoke. It said the change better reflects its ownership of multiple brand names, and its “mission to make life more interesting by delighting players”. The rebrand resembles GVC Holdings’ change of name to Entain in 2021, which came as the firm sought to distance itself from so-called ‘grey’ markets where the legal status of gambling is often vaguely defined.
Co-operative Bank plans to slash around 400 roles in cost-cutting drive
08:59 , Daniel O'Boyle
The Co-operative Bank has said it plans to cut around one in 10 of its workforce, shedding approximately 400 jobs, in a bid to cut costs.
The bank said that it was embarking on a consultation and restructure which will lead to a net reduction of 12% of its roles across the organisation.
“Today, we have announced a series of changes across the bank which are essential for the delivery of the next phase of the strategic plan,” the Co-operative Bank said.
Ocado shares rally in weaker FTSE 100, Wood struggles in FTSE 250
08:42 , Graeme Evans
Trading updates have boosted ASOS and Ocado shares, with the fashion chain up 3% or 10.7p to 356.9p and online grocer 16p stronger at 468.6p.
Among the strugglers, recently-listed CAB Payments is down 3.4p to 102.2p after maiden annual results by the Crown Agents Bank business. It listed at 335p in June’s float worth £851 million.
The FTSE 100 index fell 13.47 points to 7904.10, while the FTSE 250 index is down 21.29 points to 19,592.24.
Shares in industrial conglomerate Smiths rose 16.6p to 1670.6p after it posted interim results and named the boss of its detection business as new group chief executive.
FTSE 250-listed engineering consultancy Wood fell 4% or 5.7p to 142.5p, despite upgrading its 2024 outlook after the first year of its three-year growth strategy.
Grocery price inflation drops to new two-year low
08:06 , Daniel O'Boyle
Grocery price inflation has dropped to a new two-year low but almost a quarter of British households say they are still struggling financially, according to latest figures.
Supermarket prices were 4.5% higher than a year ago in March, the lowest inflation rate since February 2022 and a significant drop from last month’s 5.3%, according to analysts Kantar.
Despite the continued slowdown, 23% of British households identify themselves as struggling financially – the same proportion as in November last year, according to a survey by Kantar Worldpanel of more than 10,700 people at the end of January.
Cocoa above $9500 a ton
08:02 , Daniel O'Boyle
The price of cocoa continued to rocket overnight, with the price of the commodity at $9,649 a ton before markets open today.
As recently as January, it had been only a little over $4,000 a ton.
The rocketing in price, linked to a number of factors including weather, comes just days before easter.
Bellway says mortgage affordability is improving but profits drop in 'challenging' markets
07:46 , Michael Hunter
FTSE 250 developer Bellway pointed to improving mortgage affordability today as it revealed a slump in profit, revenue and completions amid the house market slowdown
Revenue fell by almost a third to £1.3 billion and profit slumped by almost 60% to £134.2 millon in the six months to the end of January.
It finished just over 4,000 homes in the period, down almost 30%, in which it said trading conditions were “challenging”.
The number of homes completed fell by almost a third in the six months to the end of January. It said it expects to complete 7,500 in. total for the full year.
Its CEO, Jason Honeyman, also pointed to some improvements in market conditions:
“The gradual reduction in mortgage interest rates throughout the first half has helped to ease affordability constraints and we have been encouraged by the improvement in reservations since the start of the new calendar year,” he said.
Flutter hit by huge writedown costs
07:41 , Daniel O'Boyle
The recently dual-listed Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment made a loss of upwards of $1 billion as was hit by massive writedown costs.
The betting giant cut the value of its Pokerstars brand by more than $700 million. Like the soon-to-be-renamed 888, it said the change was due to a greater focus on countries that were not a core part of its strategy. It took another big writedown from acquired businesses, as well as a $165 million hit from an option held by American media giant Fox to buy shares in Flutter’s American arm.
CEO Peter Jackson said: “We believe that our strategy and competitive advantages position us well to continue to grow the business through both organic and inorganic opportunities.”
Revolution Bars confirms restructuring and potential sale and fundraising plans
07:32 , Michael Hunter
Revolution Bars has confirmed it is looking for new funding as part of a restructuring plan, which could go as far as a possible sale of the group.
It comes after what the firm called “a period of external challenges”.
Revolution, which runs over 70 city centre bars, said it was also talking to existing investors, including the entrepreneur Luke Johnson.
Sky News reported overnight that a quarter of Revolution’s bars could close and that it needs to raise £10 million to survive, or more than its current market capitalisation.
888 to become "evoke"
07:24 , Daniel O'Boyle
William Hill owner 888 is to change its name to evoke plc to better reflect its mission "to make life more interesting by delighting players".
It comes as the betting firm announced plans to cut back in many of its non “core” markets. The UK is likely to avoid those cuts.
The business made a £56 million loss in 2023, less than half its loss a year earllier.
FTSE 100 seen lower after weak US performance, Hang Seng rallies
07:13 , Graeme Evans
Last week’s rates-led bounce for global markets has been followed by a period of reflection, with leading US benchmarks in negative territory last night.
The S&P 500 index lost 0.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.4% as traders looked to Thursday’s release of the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation for further guidance on potential rate cuts in 2024.
The FTSE 100 index fell back from a 12-month high during Monday’s session and is forecast by IG Index to open about 19 points lower at 7900.
Asia markets are slightly more positive after an afternoon rally for the Hang Seng index left the Hong Kong-based benchmark about 1.4% higher.
On commodity markets, Brent Crude is trading at $86.70 a barrel and gold at about $2171 an ounce after topping a record $2200 last week.
Recap: Yesterday's top stories
07:01 , Daniel O'Boyle
Good morning from the City desk of the Evening Standard:
Few streets symbolise the dizzying changes in the City of London landscape over the past half century better than Bishopsgate on the eastern fringe of the Square Mile.
When 99 Bishopsgate went up for Hongkong Bank in 1976 it was one of the tallest towers in the City at 24 storeys. It also boasted the fastest lifts in Europe. At that time Bishopsgate was a largely run down strip of low-rise buildings that bled into what was then the seedy and impoverished East End districts of Shoreditch and Spitalfields.
Even when that building was badly damaged by an IRA bomb in 1993 Bishopsgate still felt very much “edge of City”. Now it is a cliff face of glass and steel with the newly completed 22 and 8 Bishopsgate blocks rubbing shoulders with the Heron Tower, and 55 Bishopsgate soon to start emerging from the ground.
Now 99 Bishopsgate is to make way for yet another skyscraper, more than twice as high as the incumbent structure, yet still only the fifth tallest in the Square Mile. There are more in the pipeline.
News of the latest tower comes as the Corporation, the City’s governing body, outlines its vision for the next five year, building on its post-pandemic “Destination City” initiative to bring more people back into the Square Mile. It lists its first priority as building “Diverse Engaged Communities” which may come as a bit of a surprise to some of the pin-stripe brigade that exemplified the old City for so long.
The truth is that the City is rapidly evolving again with the traditional financial services that have been its meal ticket for a century or more in relative decline. The new tower at 99 Bishopsgate will have 2,000 sq metres of shops and restaurants as street level and a new cultural building when it is completed in 2031.
The office occupiers are more likely to be into AI — or whatever has taken its place by then — than M&A. Bishopsgate — and the rest of the City — continues the restless reinvention that is its greatest strength.
Here’s a selection of our other top stories:
National Express owner Mobico shares plunge after profit warning on new German accountancy rules
B&Q owner Kingfisher profits slump as France and Poland struggle but UK stronger
London based Black Sheep Coffee chain “eyes US IPO” despite being overwhelmingly UK based
Duke of Westminster’s company Grosvenor committs £900 million to housebuilding over next 10 years
Sanderson signs major US deal for Morris & Co
Manalo Blahnik signs deal with Hong Kong brand operator Bluebell in new Asian push
Virgin Wines looks to turn a corner as cancellations hit 28-month low
Property developer Brookfield unveils plans for new 54 storey skyscraper at 99 Bishopsgate
And... why inflation could be too low for the next three years
