Persimmon posts rise in H1 weekly sales, Currys FY profit to miss expectations

London open

The FTSE 100 was called to open up around 80 points at 7,188.

Stocks to watch

House builder Persimmon said weekly sales for the first half of the year were up 1% on 2021, driven by strong demand.

The company said customer enquiry levels were “healthy” with low cancellation rates low. Group forward sales were around £1.87bn, compared with £1.82bn a year earlier.

Retailer Currys warned that full-year profit would fall short of market expectations amid an uncertain outlook for consumer spending.

The retailer now expects full-year profit of between £130m to £150m, versus market consensus of £145m and a range of £127m to £167m.

Newspaper round-up

The value of food exports to the EU dropped by £2.4bn in the first 15 months after Brexit, according to analysis of HMRC data. However, overall exports, which were hit by the double whammy of Brexit red tape as well as decreased demand in hospitality due to the pandemic in 2021, recovered in the first three months of this year, the figures show. Data tracking exports since 1 January 2021, when the Brexit transition year ended, show UK food exports dropped by 19% to £10.4bn in the 15 months to 31 March 2022. - Guardian

MPs will this week write to the prime minister to voice concern that No 10 policy advisers with past ties to the gambling industry may be opposing tougher regulation designed to protect vulnerable people and addicts. It comes as Guardian analysis reveals that the industry lavished £280,000 on MPs in the run-up to an overhaul of gambling laws, which were expected to be published next week. – Guardian

HSBC is closing in on a deal to sell its Russian business to the banking tycoon Igor Kim following pressure from MPs to withdraw and fully condemn Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. The lender is understood to be in talks with Expobank, which is owned by Mr Kim, over a sale, with discussions said to be at an advanced stage. – Telegraph

The chairman of Six Nations Rugby has denied conspiring to destroy Phones 4U when he ran the mobile operator O2, despite discussing business opportunities with his rival at EE. Ronan Dunne testified to the High Court on Wednesday that he attended a secret lunch with Olaf Swantee in 2012 but said he did not discuss pricing strategies for the two networks' upcoming 4G services. – Telegraph

GSK shareholders have overwhelmingly voted in support of plans to break up the drugs group through the demerger and listing of Haleon, its consumer healthcare business, later this month. At a general meeting yesterday at Heathrow, 99.8 per cent of voting investors approved the separation, which is set to take place via the listing of Haleon on the London Stock Exchange on July 18. – The Times

US close

Stocks ended a little higher on Wall Street on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.2%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both rose 0.4%.