Whitbread maintains guidance, Syncona swings back to positive returns

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 53 points lower on Thursday, having closed up 0.17% on Wednesday at 7,184.95.

Stocks to watch

Premier Inn owner Whitbread maintained guidance despite an extension of the UK government’s lockdown, forecasting strong summer demand in coastal destinations. The company on Thursday said first quarter like-for-like sales across its hotel and restaurant estate were down 71% compared with the same period in 2019 before the pandemic struck. “Additionally, our forward bookings continue to improve, benefiting from the anticipated post-lockdown bounce in leisure demand, and a continued gradual improvement in business bookings. During the first quarter we opened 10 new hotels in the UK,” said chief executive Alison Brittain.

Syncona reported net assets of £1.3bn in its final results on Thursday, up from £1.25bn year-on-year, meaning net assets per share rose to 193.8p from 185.6p per share, for a net asset value total return of 4.4%, swinging from a negative 13.3%. The FTSE 250 company said its life science portfolio was valued at £722.1m at the end of the 12 months ended 31 March, up from £479.5m a year earlier, making for a return of 11.8%, compared to a negative 18% at the end of the prior year. It said its capital base stood at £578.2m at year-end, compared to £767m 12 months prior, with £189.2m in capital deployment, down from £206.3m.

Newspaper round-up

The number of EU citizens searching for work in Britain has fallen by more than a third since Brexit, according to a study that exposes the impact on UK employers as they struggle to recruit staff. Figures from the jobs website Indeed show searches by EU-based jobseekers for work in the UK were down by 36% in May from average levels in 2019. Low-paid jobs in hospitality, the care sector and warehouses recorded the biggest declines at 41%. - Guardian

MPs have accused financier Lex Greensill of acting suspiciously and being disrespectful towards parliament by refusing to appear in front of an inquiry into the steel industry and one of Greensill Capital largest borrowers, Liberty Steel. The business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) committee claimed Greensill had failed to give legitimate reasons for rebuffing multiple requests to answer live questions in front of parliamentarians at the end of the month. - Guardian

Global interest in Britain’s best-paid jobs has soared in the wake of Brexit, as the UK’s new immigration rules attract talent from around the world. Searches for UK-based jobs from beyond the EU have returned to pre-pandemic levels after jumping sharply since the start of the year, according to jobs site Indeed. - Telegraph

Airline easyJet is preparing to capitalise on a staycation boom with the launch of new domestic services. It will announce 12 new routes on Thursday, The Daily Telegraph has learnt. Industry sources said that easyJet will fly five times a week between Manchester and Edinburgh. There are also expected to be new ­services to Newquay from Inverness and Liverpool. - Telegraph

A second large shareholder in Spire Healthcare has come out against the £1 billion takeover of the listed private hospitals chain by an Australian rival. Toscafund Asset Management, which owns 5.4 percent of Spire’s shares, has urged other investors to reject the 240p-a-share bid from Ramsay Health Care, which was recommended by Spire’s board last month. - The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks ended the session in the red following a press conference held by Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.77% at 34,033.67, while the S&P 500 was 0.54% weaker at 4,223.70 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.24% softer at 14,039.68.

The Dow Jones closed 265.66 points lower on Wednesday as eyes were fixed on the Federal Reserve.

Wednesday's primary focus was a move by Central bankers in the US that saw them nudged up their individual projections for short-term interest rates in 2022 and 2023 at their two-day policy meeting, although they didn't actually discuss potential dates for the so-called 'lift-off' in rates. The median projection of participants on the Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed's main policy-making body, was now for two hikes in 2023.

Furthermore, while no interest rate hikes were expected in 2021, a few more FOMC participants than at March's policy meeting now also expected hikes in 2022 while many more now saw hikes arriving in 2023. The highest projection for the Fed funds rate in 2023 was now at 1.6%, versus 1.1% in March, when policy-makers last published their projections for rates.