BP Q1 earnings slump, HSBC profits almost halve

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 14 points higher on Tuesday, having closed up 1.64% at 5,846.79 on Monday.

Stocks to watch

First quarter profits at BP slumped 67% on the back of a slump in oil prices and “demand destruction” caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Underlying replacement cost profit, used as a measure of net profit, fell to $800m, compared with $2.4bn in the first quarter of 2019. BP also said it would slash annual capital spending to $12bn, a 25% cut on guidance given in February.

HSBC's first-quarter profit almost halved as revenue fell and the bank set aside $3bn for credit losses after the Covid-19 crisis took its toll on financial performance. Pretax profit for the three months to the end of March dropped 48% to $3.2bn from a year earlier as revenue fell 5% to $13.7bn. Expected credit losses rose $2.4bn to $3bn.

Marks & Spencer said it had “strengthened” its liquidity on Tuesday, as it was looking at a “severely constrained” clothing and home business amid the ongoing Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. The FTSE 250 retailer said a formal agreement had been reached with its syndicate of banks to relax or remove covenants on the £1.1bn revolving credit facility, as well as had confirmation that it is an eligible issuer under the Covid Corporate Financing Facility. Those two measures meant that, under both its base planning scenario and “more adverse assumptions”, M&S had “significant” undrawn credit available for the 18 months ahead.

Newspaper round-up

Ministers have held a series of high-level meetings with trades unions and business leaders amid fears that millions of people will be too fearful to return to work as pressure intensifies on the government to publish a path out of the national lockdown. The Guardian has been told that both sides of industry have been drafted into seven sector-by-sector meetings chaired by the business secretary, Alok Sharma, in recent days – after concerns arose in Whitehall that many employees may be reluctant to return to the workplace, even when the government gives the green light. – Guardian

Almost 400,000 home sales worth a total of £82bn have been put on hold as a result of the housing market lockdown, according to Zoopla. The property website said that 373,000 sales had stalled since the end of March when ministers told people to delay their home moves if possible, and social distancing rules made valuations and viewings impossible. – Guardian

Tesco has started laying off the first wave of the 45,000 temporary workers it hired at the height of the coronavirus crisis. In one store, 80pc of the new staff were given seven days' notice on Saturday as thousands of newly created roles face the axe. Some staff argue that the cuts are arbitrary. One employee, who worked in a restaurant in Gloucestershire before the outbreak took hold, was told the job at Tesco would be for 12 weeks. – Telegraph

The offshore energy industry in Britain is facing a “bleak” future, with as many as 30,000 jobs at risk, a trade group is warning as oil prices tumble amid concern about scarce storage capacity. In a report to be published today, Oil and Gas UK says that urgent government action is needed to protect jobs and the security of the country’s energy supply as the industry is crippled by low energy prices and the broader fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. – The Times

The market for new passenger airliners is reeling from national lockdowns, travel restrictions and airlines haemorrhaging cash, but there could be still more pain on the way for Boeing, Airbus and other manufacturers as a flood of cheaper rentals hit the market. About a thousand commercial passenger jets will be repossessed from airlines over the next year as the impact of coronavirus ravages the industry, according to a forecast provided to The Times. – The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks finished in the green on Monday, as market participants reacted to news that several US states were already eyeing a phased reopening of economic activity

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session up 1.51% at 24,133.78, the S&P 500 added 1.47% to 2,878.48, and the Nasdaq Composite was ahead 1.11% at 8,730.16.

It was a positive session throughout, with the Dow having opened 226.37 points higher, continuing Friday's rally driven by Donald Trump signing off on another $484bn economic rescue package.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Sunday that he planned to reopen the state's economy in various phases, with the first involving the construction and manufacturing sector heading back to work.

As part of Cuomo's second phase, firms will need to put into place plans for a re-opening that would include social distancing practices and adequate personal protective equipment.

The southern state of Georgia also began reopening its economy on Friday, allowing gyms, hair salons and tattoo shops to begin serving customers again, while Alaska, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas also began to allow restaurants and other establishments to serve customers.