The FTSE 100 opened on the back foot Wednesday, falling 1.2% to 6,249 after a spike in coronavirus cases across the globe compounded fears of a second wave.
In overnight trading China’s Shanghai Composite nudged up 0.3% while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.2%.
Brent Oil prices were 0.6% lower at $42.4 dollars a barrel and Gold prices were slightly higher at $1,769 an ounce. The pound was 0.3% lower against the US dollar at $1.25.
CORPORATE NEWS
At the bottom of the FTSE 250 today were shares in home builder Crest Nicholson, which slumped 8% to 231p after the company reported a pre-tax loss of £51.2 million as revenue fell 52.2% to £240.0 million.
The company said it expected FY20 adjusted pre-tax profit to be in the range of £35m-to-£45m.
Pub owner JD Wetherspoon (JDW) said it would reopen pubs in England on 4 July 2020, in line with the government's guidance.
The bulk of its staff, around 35,616 intended to return to work, with 4,090 not able to follow suit immediately due to maternity leave, caring duties or health issues, the company said, citing a survey carried out on 18 June. The shares put on 1% to £13.4.
In a trading update for the period ended 31 May 2020, residential and industrial real estate investor St. Modwen Properties (SMP) warned of a substantial fall in first-half earnings, owing to the Covid-19 crisis.
Adjusted EPRA earnings for the six months through June were seen falling to around £4m-to-£5 million, down from £16.2 million . However it said recent trading had been ahead of expectations with long-term structural growth drivers remaining positive. The shares nudged up 0.8% to 356p.
OIL PRICE SLUMP IMPACT
Share in oil services group Petrofac (PFC) dropped 4% to 211p after it warned that its trading performance had been materially impacted by the Covid-19 crisis and an associated plunge in oil prices.
In a trading update for the six months through June, the company said revenue at its engineering and construction division was expected to fall to around $1.6 billion, driven by pandemic-related project delays.
The firm was on track to deliver $15 million of cost savings in 2020 and up to $200 million in 2021.
Shares in Avon Rubber (AVON) were 1.6% ahead to £32.7 after it said it had won a five-year contract worth up to $50m to supply the US Department of Defense with the M50 Mask System, related spares and accessories.
Avon Protection anticipated receiving the first order under this contract shortly with deliveries expected to commence in the second half of the current financial year and contributing to its expected military revenues for the 2020 financial year.
Online wine retailer Naked Wines (WINE) said its annual results from continuing operations were ‘marginally ahead’ of expectations. Revenues were up 14% to £203 million while operating losses were reduced to £1.4 million.
The company said it had experienced an encouraging start to the new year, with 81% revenue growth in its first two months of the financial year.
Mr Kipling cake and Oxo stock cubes maker Premier Foods (PFD) swung to a full-year profit for the 52 weeks ended 28 March with pre-tax profit of £53.6 million on revenues 2.8% higher at £847 million.
The company said trading in the first two months of the new financial year had seen ‘particularly strong trading’ with revenues up around 20% compared with last year, as it benefitted from customers stocking up during lockdown, pushing the shares 4% higher to 62p.
Consultancy services provider Alpha Financial Markets Consulting (AFM:AIM) scrapped its final dividend to preserve cash amid Covid-19 uncertainty.
The company reported revenues up 17% to £90.9 million and adjusted earnings per share up 18% to 14.2p. The shares gained 4.4% to 180p.
