FTSE 100 Live June 16: ECB rate hike and Tesco trading update

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Bill Hunt reported annual loss after “challenging” year including “disastrous” micro-balance sheet

City investment bank and stockbroker Peel Hunt reported a drop in annual revenues of more than a third and turned into a loss, with banking revenue down 60%.

He noted an “extraordinary level of market turmoil” during the year to the end of March. It lost £1.5m in all, down from profits of over £41m a year earlier. Revenue fell to £82.3m from £131m, down more than 37%. You will not pay an annual dividend for the year.

Stephen Fine, Chief Executive Officer, said: “The challenges faced by the financial services sector in the past 12 months have been well documented, with their impact on market activity and investor sentiment across the industry. This can be seen in our results for fiscal year ’23.”

In the broader statement alongside his numbers, Bill Hunt referred to “economic and geopolitical events” at home and abroad:

The ongoing war on European soil combined with the fallout from the UK government’s disastrous mini-budget has contributed to a rapid rise in interest rates, which are now at their highest levels in 14 years. This, along with the largest bank failures since 2008, has severely affected investor confidence and market volumes in the UK.”

It also said the year had been “difficult” for UK stock markets, with very low trading volumes, particularly for initial public offerings, when companies go public. This pushed Peel Hunt’s investment banking revenue to £23.4m from £57.9m a year earlier. The number of stock market transactions I worked on decreased to 27 from 46.

“We remain confident that we will be ready and well positioned to take advantage when market activity returns to normal,” added CEO Fine.

1686896486 Wall Street and Asian markets rose, the FTSE 100 index consolidates its gains

US markets continued yesterday’s bull run, with the S&P 500 adding another 1.2% to complete its sixth consecutive session in positive territory.

The index closed above 4,400 for the first time since April 2022, while the technology-focused Nasdaq Composite continued its momentum, up 1.1%.

The gains came after higher-than-expected weekly numbers on US jobless claims, which fueled expectations that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to follow through on its expectations of two additional rate hikes at its meeting on Wednesday.

Wall Street’s rally came despite the European Central Bank releasing higher-than-expected inflation forecasts along with its recent 0.25% interest rate hike.

Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, indicated that it is likely that the central bank will also raise interest rates at its meeting next month.

The FTSE 100 closed up 25.52 points at 7,628.26, with CMC Markets expecting another seven-point increase to 7,635 this morning. It comes after a strong session in Asia, where the Hang Seng rose more than 1% after Wall Street’s strong performance.

1686896733ITV confirms plan to buy Gogglebox maker All3Media

ITV said today it is “actively exploring” the acquisition of All3Media, one of the UK’s largest independent programme-makers and the company behind Call the Midwife and Gogglebox.

The UK’s main free-to-air broadcaster added that “there is no certainty as to whether any deal will happen”.

Channel 4

All3Media is owned by Warner Bros Discovery and Liberty Global, a shareholder of ITV.

Reuters reported on the potential deal yesterday, saying it could value All3Media at more than £1 billion.

1686896237 Carey is preparing to sell a Greek unit

Currys is exploring selling its Greek retail unit Kotsovolos.

The company, which has more than 90 stores in Greece, was acquired by Dixons in 2005 before merging with Currys.

In a statement, the company said: “The strength of the Kotsovolos brand, long-term track record of profitable delivery and market-leading position are not currently reflected in the group’s valuation.

“Given the strong economic outlook for Greece and the future growth opportunities for the business, the Board of Directors believes that now is the right time to explore all options available to Koutsovolos.”

(Tim Good/PA)

/ PA Wire1686896050 Tesco boss says inflation is starting to ease

Tesco boss Ken Murphy says there are signs of inflation starting to ease, with the supermarket giant saying it expects profits of between £1.4bn and £1.8bn this year.

Murphy – who made £4.4m last year – said the supermarket had “lead the way” in cutting prices.

“We are well aware that many of our customers continue to face significant cost-of-living pressures, and we have led the way in lowering the prices of everyday essential items,” he said. “There are encouraging early signs that inflation is beginning to abate across the market and we will continue to work tirelessly to ensure customers receive the best possible value at Tesco.”

Sales reached £13.8 billion, up 8.8%, of which £10..8 billion came from the UK.

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