Unite Group sells two Coventry properties, deteriorating markets see SIG warn on profits

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open six points lower on Monday, having closed up 1.1% at 7,155.38 on Friday.

Stocks to watch

Student accommodation owner Unite said it had sold two properties in Coventry for £96m to Mapletree Investments. The sale was in line with book value, Unite said in a statement on Monday, and took its share of disposals in the year to date to £250. “We intend to dispose of approximately £150m - £200m of assets per annum over the next three years," said chief executive Richard Smith.

Building materials supplier SIG issued a profits warning on Monday, citing deteriorating markets caused by Brexit worries and a weaker German economy. The company said it now anticipated“significantly lower” full year underlying profits in both its specialist distribution and roofing merchanting businesses than previous expectations. The group also said it had sold its air handling division and building solutions business for £235.8m, which when completed would “significantly strengthen” its balance sheet.

Vodafone said its British tests of open access radio technology could aid the company in becoming a major supplier of mobile network equipment to telecom operators. The telecoms giant said the technology, which is also being trialled in Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique following lab testing in South Africa and Turkey, can connect some of the world's most rural communities to the internet using standardised and low cost equipment.

Newspaper round-up

Debt campaigners have accused the International Monetary Fund of encouraging reckless lending by extending $93bn (£75bn) of loans to 18 financially troubled countries without a debt restructuring programme first. In advance of the IMF’s annual meeting in Washington next week, the Jubilee Debt Campaign (JDC) said the Fund was breaking its own rules by providing financial support without ensuring that the debt burden was sustainable. – Guardian

Proposed reforms of international tax rules by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development will only claw back 5% of profits, and could end up worsening global inequality, analysis by tax campaigners has found. A study by the Tax Justice Network found that the OECD proposals, designed to limit the scope of multinationals to avoid tax, could end up shrinking the tax paid in poorer countries. – Guardian

The head of Blackstone has labelled the £22bn takeover of data business Refinitiv that would make the private equity titan the biggest shareholder in the London Stock Exchange a “big bet” on Britain, days ahead of a deadline for a new attack on the deal from Hong Kong. In a Telegraph interview, Stephen Schwarzman said that the sale of Bloomberg challenger Refinitiv to the LSE is “a good deal for both sides” and rejected any suggestion it favours Blackstone. He said: “Refinitiv is a big bet because we’re taking stock.” - Telegraph

About 300 workers have been let go by Sirius Minerals as the North Yorkshire fertiliser mine developer slashes costs to preserve cash. The future of the company and its ambitious mining project were thrown into doubt last month when its $3.8 billion funding plan failed. Chris Fraser, chief executive of Sirius, told The Times that he hoped to carry out an initial strategic review of the project and alternative funding options by the end of this month. – The Times

The saviour of the British steel industry or over-ambitious, over-borrowed adventurer? Few captains of British industry have so divided opinion in recent times. An extraordinary run of takeovers since he bought the old Mir steelworks in Newport six years ago means that Sanjeev Gupta, 48, controls more than 20 businesses in the metals sector. Operating from 50 locations around the country, he has taken advantage of the financial distress of Tata Steel and the failure of Caparo Industries, both owned by anglophile Indians. – The Times

US close

Stocks closed sharply higher on Friday despite a mixed jobs report, with the Dow Jones Industrials cutting into the heavy losses recorded earlier in the week.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.42% at 26,573.72, while the S&P 500 was also ahead 1.42% at 2,952.01 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.40% firmer at 7,982.47.

The Dow closed 372.68 points stronger on Friday, following on from a solid performance in the previous session as a result of market participants beginning to bet on the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates at its meeting later in the month following a recent string of dismal data.

While sentiment took another beating on Thursday after a weak ISM services reading triggered another bout of volatility in financial markets and briefly knocked the Dow Industrials below its 200-day moving average, news that US non-farm payrolls rose more or less as expected last month helped investors breathe a sigh of relief in regards to the state of the US economy, even if only for a moment.

According to the Department of Labor, hiring increased by 136,000 in September and non-farm payroll gains for the prior two months were revised higher by a combined 45,000. Economists had forecast a reading of 140,000 for September.

The monthly unemployment rate of 3.5% was the gauge's lowest reading in half a century.