Currys gets approval to sell Greek business, Frasers shutters Matches
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open four points lower on Friday, having closed up 0.17% on Thursday at 7,692.46.
Stocks to watch
Currys said Greek regulators had approved the sale of its Greece and Cyprus retail business Kotsovolos to Public Power Corporation for an enterprise value of €200m (£175m). The UK electrical retailer said it expected to get around £156m net from the deal and use the cash to pay down debt.
Frasers Group responded to media speculation over its Matches brand on Friday, confirming its closure after just two months of ownership. The FTSE 100 retail conglomerate said that despite its support, Matches had consistently missed business targets and incurred significant losses since its acquisition. Due to unsustainable funding needs and the extent of restructuring required, it said the directors of Matches had opted to place the group into administration, while Frasers said it remained committed to its luxury market presence and brand partnerships.
Industrial threads maker Coats said it expected “modest” revenue growth this year as markets recovered in the second half after reporting higher 2023 profits. The company, which makes threads for the shoe and clothing industries, said pre-tax profit for the year to December 31 rose to $155m from $151m on a 9% fall in revenue to $1.4bn. Operating profit rose 2% to $184m. Coats said it expected to make “good progress” in 2024 underpinned by modest revenue growth, with a weighting to the second half, as apparel and footwear gradually recover, and increasing tender activity in performance materials.
Newspaper round-up
Jeremy Hunt and Rachel Reeves are joined in a “conspiracy of silence” over tens of billions of pounds in tough tax and spending choices, with the next government likely to inherit the toughest outlook for the public finances in 80 years, Britain’s leading economic think tank has warned. The Institute for Fiscal Studies said the chancellor’s budget on Wednesday had laid the ground for “staggeringly hard choices” due after the general election for whichever party forms the next government. – Guardian
Snaking queues outside Northern Rock have become the enduring image of Britain’s financial crisis. Now the ghost of the old lender threatens to haunt the country’s banks yet again. Nationwide’s proposed £2.9bn acquisition of Virgin Money, which includes the remnants of Northern Rock, threatens to reshape the financial services sector and challenge the dominance of Britain’s six biggest lenders. – Telegraph
The death of cash has raked in an extra £12bn for Jeremy Hunt as card and digital payments make it harder for people to dodge tax. Richard Hughes, chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), said the shift away from notes and coins had proven lucrative for the taxman because it was now harder to avoid value added tax (VAT). – Telegraph
British savers withdrew £24.3 billion from funds in what was only the second year of outflows, as investors sought to free up cash amid the cost-of-living crisis. Equity funds performed the worst, suffering £22 billion in outflows as British companies remained out of favour with investors, according to data from the Investment Association. – The Times
One of the world’s wealthiest women is facing a formal investigation of her Bet365 gambling empire over possible breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws. Bet365, founded by Denise Coates, 56, is being investigated by the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, or Austrac, a financial crime watchdog, over allegations that the bookmaker breached the law. - The Times
US close
US stock markets rose on Thursday, with the S&P 500 notching another record high on the back of strong gains for tech stocks, after comments from the head of the Federal Reserve raised hopes that interest-rate cuts were nearing a reality.
The S&P 500 reached a new high of 5,157.36, rising 1.03% on the day, surpassing a previous peak of 5,137.08 reached on 1 March.
The Dow finished up 0.34%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.5% with six of the Magnificent Seven stocks finishing with gains.
Sentiment was being boosted by Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell who said that the central bank would consider "carefully removing" its restrictive stance as long as data keeps moving in the right direction.
In a testimony on Capitol Hill, Powell said policymakers were "not far" from gaining the confidence needed to cut rates.