Centrica delivers 'strong' YTD operational performance, Future acquires digital publisher WhoWhatWear

London pre-open

The FTSE 100 was being called to open 43.7 points higher ahead of the bell on Tuesday after the index closed 2.32% lower at 7,216.58 in the previous session.

Stocks to watch

Energy services business Centrica said on Tuesday that it delivered a "strong operational performance" in the first four months of 2022, leading the group to currently expect full-year adjusted earnings per share to be at the top end of analyst expectations.

In its British gas services and solutions unit, Centrica stated it had seen some supply chain disruption and higher inflation impacting both its cost base and customer demand and cautioned that it expects said headwinds to continue to, at least partially, offset underlying operational progress for the duration of the current period of high inflation. However, Centrica added that volumes from its nuclear and gas production assets in the UK had been strong and that its energy marketing and trading business had both secured increased volumes of gas and renewable energy.

Media platform operator Future has acquired US-based women's lifestyle publisher WhoWhatWear from Clique Brands for an undisclosed sum.

Future said on Tuesday that the acquisition of WhoWhatWear, which will be funded from existing debt facilities, would further strengthens its position in the women's lifestyle vertical and give the FTSE 250-listed group greater scale and reach in North America to further monetise its audience.

Newspaper round-up

Drivers are scrambling to buy secondhand electric cars, more than doubling sales in the past year as demand for zero-emission vehicles surges. Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show that the number of transactions for electric cars increased from 6,600 in the first three months of 2021 to almost 14,600 in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 120%. - Guardian

A US firm known for betting against companies' share prices has said Elon Musk could submit a lower bid for Twitter, owing to a slump in tech stocks and a weak financial performance at the social media platform. Hindenburg Research said there was a "significant chance" that the Tesla chief executive will seek to pay less than the agreed bid price of $54.20 a share, which values Twitter at $44.0bn and has been accepted by the company's board. - Guardian

Rail chiefs are on the cusp of privatising thousands of miles of trackside phone lines in a move that will pave the way for commuters to get faster onboard internet coverage. Some 10,000 miles of phone cables running next to railway lines are to be sold off under proposals also intended to boost broadband speeds for millions of households. - Telegraph

The chairman of Aviva said he was "flabbergasted" after female board members suffered a torrent of sexist abuse at the company's annual general meeting. George Culmer hit out at "simply inappropriate" comments by shareholders including one investor who said that Amanda Blanc, chief executive, is "not the man for the job". He said that her speech did not match with Aviva's share price performance over the past decade. - Telegraph

It is often the case that success breeds resentment and so it has proved with Rightmove. The company's success is undoubted. It dominates Britain's online property search market, with its site attracting 2.5bn visits last year. The group's business model is also highly profitable, with an operating margin of 74% last year, one of the highest in the FTSE 100. Yet it is not without its critics in the property industry. Three years ago analysts at Jefferies, the investment bank, described Rightmove's relationship with estate agents as akin to a "psychological chokehold". - The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks closed firmly in the red yet again on Monday following a sixth-straight losing week for the blue-chip Dow Jones.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.89% at 32,245.70, while the S&P 500 was 3.20% weaker at 3,991.24 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 4.29% softer at 11,623.25.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com